Lincoln Cathedral re-submits bid ahead of £13m expansion

A £13.3 million project to extend and sustain Lincoln Cathedral by 2022 will depend on the success of a second bid for funding.

The Lincoln Cathedral Connected project aims to improve the visitor experience and engage with the wider community.

The project will include a new Coffee shop, a new visitor and interpretation centre, landscaping of the West front and North green, conservation of Exchequergate Arch, New education facilities, West front restoration and reworking of the Cathedral’s external lighting.

The Cathedral’s bid was unsuccessful in securing funding when it made it down to the final round of applicants.

It will re-submit a round one bid for £10.6 million to Heritage Lottery Fund for the first stage of the project on December 1, 2014.

This will then go to the HLF Committee meeting in Spring of 2015 for a decision.

If the development grant application is successful, the cathedral will enter a 18 month/ 2 year period where the plans will be developed in much more detail.

The planning process will include investigations such as archaeological surveys and developing the activity plans to ensure both the wider community and other regional and national bodies are engaged.

Following this, a stage two bid will be entered in 2017. Stage two will be a five year delivery phase, which will include major building works, the education programme and recruitment of staff.

The rest of the works will be match funded, and the Lincoln Cathedral Connected will be completely finished in 2022.

Dr Anne Irving, Grants and Donations Manager at Lincoln Cathedral, said: “We are very excited about the opportunities Lincoln Cathedral Connected offers in terms of our visitors, the local community and how we make the Cathedral relevant in the 21st century.

“We hope to attract a new generation of visitors, to be a part of the vibrant cathedral community, and ensure that the cathedral has a place within the community and is sustained for centuries to come.”