The Chancellor Philip Hammond made a special announcement in the Autumn Statement, granting £7.6 million to help rescue and restore Wentworth Woodhouse. The news gives the full go-ahead to plans to preserve one of Britain’s Great Houses for the nation. It follows a meeting between Wentworth and Dearne MP John Healey and the Chancellor last month, alongside Julie Kenny, chair of the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust and builds on months of meetings with ministers and civil servants to make the case for the grant.
Speaking after the announcement, John said: “I’m delighted that the Chancellor today recognised the scale of the challenge in saving Wentworth Woodhouse for the public and backed the huge potential boost it could bring to jobs, businesses and visitors in the North.
“The grant is a great vote of confidence for the work that the Trust and its chair Julie Kenny have been doing on the plans for the Great House.”