Friends of Concord Beach Celebrate

Sharing Heritage:  Friends of Concord Beach celebrate £10,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant

The Friends of Concord Beach, in partnership with Canvey Island.org, has received a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Sharing Heritage grant, it was announced today. The exciting project is a 77metre long mural depicting the story of the flooding of Canvey Island in1953 and how it influenced the development of the sea defences. The mural will be painted on the sea wall by Concord Beach. The Friends of Concord Beach have been given £10,000 to tell the story with archive material provided by Canvey Island.org.

Sharing Heritage is a new funding programme to help people across the UK explore, conserve and share all aspects of the history and character of their local area.

The Friends of Concord Beach, a registered charity, was formed in 2010 to protect and maintain Concord Beach as a place of beauty and relaxation. They also work to inform the community about the nature and history of the beach.

Commenting on the award, Chairman Colin Letchford said: “It’s great that we have been awarded this grant and we can’t wait to get started. We love where we live and know there’s so much more to discover about our past. Canvey Island.org has a great archive of material we want to share with visitors to the beach. We are all really excited about telling other people about our heritage”

Friends of Concord Beach would like to hear from artists, professional and amateur, who would be interested in helping with the mural project. Please email Colin with your details at c.letchford@o2.co.uk

Robyn Llewellyn, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund, East of England, said: “Sharing Heritage is a wonderful opportunity for communities to delve into their local heritage and we are delighted to be able to offer this grant so that Friends of Concord Beach and Canvey Island.org can embark on a real journey of discovery. Heritage means such different things to different people, and HLF’s funding offers a wealth of opportunities for groups to explore and celebrate what’s important to them in their area.”

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