THE BOVINGTON based Tank Museum has been awarded £780,000 as part of the UK Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.

The grant, issued by the Department of Culture Media and Sport through Arts Council England, will ensure that the Dorset charity can manage during the pandemic whilst working towards a sustainable future.

Director of The Tank Museum, Richard Smith said: "We are enormously grateful for this urgently needed funding. This award is an investment in our future and acknowledges the hard work we have already put in to navigating the crisis."

The Museum will spend the funds improving the visitor experience and developing new income streams.

This, according to the Museum, will enhance financial resilience and safeguard jobs in 2021 and beyond.

In addition, funds from the grant have been allocated to improving the museums online shop and by making improvements to the "fulfilment operation."

The grant will also ensure that the Museum’s fleet of running vehicles can be appropriately maintained in the coming months– ready for the return of live-action vehicle displays in 2021.

Winter months will now be spent working to complete a suspended World War Two exhibition for 2021, and developing new visit-enhancing features to replace tours and certain interactives that were not deemed ‘Covid secure’.

Richard added: "As one of 1,385 cultural and creative organisations across the country to receive financial aid today, I cannot overstate how different our future would have looked without it. Our industry depends on important knowledge-based jobs that could otherwise have been lost in what is a relatively deprived rural area.

"This essential support will fuel The Tank Museum’s fight back against the pandemic and allow us to emerge stronger than ever."