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Fears for stately home's conservatory after Lottery cash bid fails
PLANS for the £3m restoration of a Victorian conservatory at Wentworth Castle, Barnsley, have been dealt a blow by the Heritage Lottery Fund, which has rejected a grant application.
The Grade I listed gardens at the stately home have already been restored and the Wentworth Castle Trust was hoping for HLF support to restore the conservatory, which is in a serious state of disrepair, and a walled garden.
The Lottery fund had been asked to bankroll both projects with a total grant of almost 5m, but that has been turned down.
In the latest round of funding HLF has received requests for five times as much money as it had available.
Its chief executive, Carole Souter, said: "This was an extremely competitive round with funding five times oversubscribed; as a result there were a number of strong applications which we simply did not have the money to support."
Richard Evans, heritage director of Wentworth Castle Trust, said: "This is obviously disappointing news for everybody connected with the project, but we are now in discussions with the HLF about re-submitting an application which focuses entirely on restoring the conservatory.
"The conservatory is in a very derelict condition and supported only by a protection scaffold. Without any further help this ornate structure will decay further and then ultimately collapse.
"But we are very determined that this will not happen and will continue to seek ways to bring about its full restoration. The conservatory restoration will cost in the region of 3m. Without help we will lose a vital part of both Barnsley's and Yorkshire's heritage."
The trust has already launched its own appeal to raise funds towards the conservatory rest-oration and that will continue.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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