Bletchley Park receives lottery development grant

Bletchley Park has received welcome news about its application for more than £4m in funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

The HLF approved the first round plans saying the project to transform the current museum into a world class heritage and educational site fulfilled its criteria for funding.

It has now given the Bletchley Park Trust, which looks after the top secret code-breaking hub of World War II, funding of £460,500 to help with the application for lottery funding.

The HLF said the plans put forward by the Bletchley Park Trust had the “potential to deliver high-quality benefits and value for Lottery money.”

The Trust now has up to two years to submit more detailed plans and apply for approximately £4.1m of HLF support that it needs for the £10m project.

Simon Greenish, director of the Bletchley Park Trust, said “The support offered by HLF is a landmark event for the Trust in our quest to provide a permanent future for Bletchley Park that will enable us to work up detailed plans for the education and enjoyment of future generations.

“Since 1992, the Trust has fought fiercely, tirelessly and righteously for this victorious moment; not only for the vital investment needed to move our plans forward but also for this definitive endorsement from the UK’s most prestigious heritage funding body that the nation has confidence, belief and advocacy in the Trust and the restoration project.

"However, this is neither the end, nor the beginning of the end but it is perhaps the end of the beginning.

“As Churchill said at the end of war in Europe: ‘We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing; but let us not forget for a moment the toil and efforts that lie ahead. We must now devote all our strength and resources to the completion of our task”.

Bletchley Park, which was nearly bulldozed to the ground to make way for a Tesco supermarket 17 years ago, has had to fight hard to get funds for restoration and development.

Post-war very little was done to Bletchley Park in the way of maintenance or repairs and the buildings on the site had fallen into a critical condition. English Heritage and Milton Keynes Council recently announced investment of £930,000 to deal with this and restoration work is well under way.

Historians agree that Bletchley Park, top secret code-breaking hub of World War II, shortened the war by two years saving countless lives. It has been open to the public since 1994 as a museum.

Interest in the site continues to grow with visitor numbers almost doubling from 50,000 a year three years ago to approaching 100,000 this year. Bletchley Park Trust has a thriving educational programme and last year more than 6,000 schoolchildren visited the museum.

The plans that Bletchley Park Trust is seeking HLF support for are to transform the current museum into a world-class heritage and educational site reflecting the profound significance of the impact its work had on the outcome of war and as a permanent tribute to its unsung intellectual warriors.

Carole Souter, chief executive of Heritage Lottery Fund, said: "Bletchley Park is an extraordinary part of the UK's heritage. The Heritage Lottery Fund's initial support for the Trust's restoration plans demonstrates our belief that Bletchley's story should be much more widely known and appreciated.

"We also recognise the importance of preserving the site as a tribute to the men and women who worked there with quiet and tireless dedication during World War II. Without their dedication, our nation's history might have been a very different one."