Hornchurch's Queen's Theatre has been confirmed this week as one of hundreds of arts, heritage and cultural organisations across England that will receive a share of the next £107 million from the government's Culture Recovery Fund.

Hornchurch & Upminster MP, Julia Lopez, received news of the £148 500 grant for the Havering Theatre Trust after Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries, announced the latest round of funding on 19 November. The funding boost comes in the wake of a visit Mrs Lopez made in September to Queen's to meet Artistic Director, Douglas Rintoul. During the visit she saw some of the capital investment that the theatre has made during the pandemic to make the building even more of a community and cultural hub for Havering and spoke to Mr Rintoul about the work he does to support artists and their work in Havering. 

The Culture Recovery Fund has already got £1.2 billion out the door to around 5,000 organisations and sites across the country and this latest round of funding is giving a lifeline to regional theatres, local museums, independent cinemas and many more to support them through the winter. The Fund is administered by the Arts Council England, British Film Institute, National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England and is designed to protect our cultural life and heritage through the difficulties thrown them by the pandemic, when many of our museums and venues have had to close their doors.

Welcoming the news, Mrs Lopez said ‘I am so pleased that the Havering Theatre Trust has been awarded £148,500 from the third round of the Culture Recovery Fund. Places like the Queen's Theatre have had a really tough eighteen months and as we navigate and recover from the pandemic, the government really wants to make sure that those cultural venues thrive. Queen's is not just a theatre but a treasured community venue that offers support to people from every part of the community. We all want it to go from strength to strength.'