attraCtions & museums Catalyst scheme details revealed


Arts Council England (ACE); the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF); and the government have announced further details of a £100m scheme that has been designed to increase philanthropic donations. Full guidance for applicants


to the Catalyst scheme has been published, with heritage groups now able to submit bids for support under the first part of the programme. The £100m fund com-


prises three strands: the first being the £55m Catalyst: Endowments strand jointly funded by ACE, HLF and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Groups will be able to apply for an endowment worth between £500,000 and £5m, which will have to be at least matched through private giving. Te Catalyst Arts: capacity building and match funding scheme will see £30m invested by


Te scheme aims to increase the number of philanthropic donations


ACE to support groups that have already had some success in fundraising. Te catalyst Arts and Catalyst Heritage fund-


raising capacity building programme will see £7m invested by ACE and £5m invested by the HLF. A further £3m will also be made available by ACE to help increase knowledge sharing.


WB’s Harry Potter tours to open in March


Details of some of the expe- riences visitors can view on a new behind-the-scenes tour of the Harry Potter movies from 31 March 2012 have been announced by Warner Bros. Warner Bros Studio Tour


London-Te Making of Harry Potter will boast some of the iconic sets included in the films, including the Great Hall and Dumbledore’s office. Other sets to be included


will be the Ministry of Magic; 4 Privet Drive; Gryffindor’s common room; and the Hogwarts bridge. Te new Harry Potter attraction has been


designed by US-based exhibition design com- pany Thinkwell and will cover more than 150,000sq ſt (13,935sq m) at WB’s studios in Leavesden, Hertfordshire.


Tickets for the Harry Potter experience went on sale on 13 October Rupert Grint, the actor who played Ron


Weasley, said: “The sets all have tiny little details that you may not always notice in the films, but when you walk through them, you can see all the work that’s gone into them.”


Two firms to work on Welsh heritage sites


Branding and design agency M Worldwide and fit out contractor Datum Contracts have been appointed to work on retail and visitor centre concepts at historic attractions across Wales. New retail and visitor facilities at Conwy Castle, which are to be open by Easter 2012,


© CYBERTREK 2011


will benefit from M Worldwide and Datum Contracts’ new approach as part of a trial. M Worldwide will be responsible for draw-


ing up design principles that can be applied across the Cadw estate, which will then be implemented by Datum Contracts.


Twitter: @leisureopps Te Cardigan Castle in Ceredigion, Wales


Cardigan Castle secures £4.5m revamp funding


An extensive £10m restoration of Cardigan Castle is set to get underway aſter it was announced that £4.5m had been provided by the Welsh Assembly Government. Te Cadwgan Trust is leading efforts


to revitalise the historic west Wales prop- erty and has now secured £4.3m from the European Regional Development Fund. Meanwhile, more than £460,000 has


been contributed by the Welsh Assembly Government through its historic envi- ronment agency, Cadw, to make up the remainder of the investment.


Museum of Somerset reopens in Taunton


Te new-look Museum of Somerset has reopened to the public at Taunton Castle, aſter a £6.93m transformation that increased its exhibition space by 50 per cent. Somerset County Council invested £1.8m


in the project, which is designed to explore the story of the the county from prehistoric times through to the modern day. Exhibits at the revamped attraction


include the Frome Hoard, which is one of the largest collections of Roman coins found in the UK. A learning centre and a café are also on offer at the attraction.


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital 11


Royal Albert museum to open in December


The Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) in Exeter is due to reopen on 15 December, following the completion of a £24m redevelopment of the attraction. Te building is one of Britain’s largest


regional museums and the current works are the first major development at RAMM since its foundation in 1868. As part of the refurbishment, late 20th


century fittings and additions were stripped out uncovering original architectural fea- tures and revealing the splendour of the property’s original Victorian spaces.


image: britainonview/simon kreitem


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