A grant of £200,000 has been gifted to the International Bomber Command Centre project on Canwick Hill by North Kesteven District Council.
The centre is a nationally important memorial to the personnel of RAF Bomber Command, recognising those who contributed and gave their lives during World War II.
The money, approved on Tuesday, September 13 by the authority’s Executive Board will help to deliver the second stage of the project – the Chadwick exhibition and visitor centre.
The new designs for the Cadwick Centre on Canwick Hill.
This grant will help to deliver the centre to and bring a significant boost to the area’s visitor appeal.
The trust behind the project needs a total of £3million to complete the centre, access roads, car parking and other facilities on the site.
The centre will provide the most comprehensive record of Bomber Command in the world, telling the important stories of those who served, supported and suffered in the World War II bombing campaigns.
It will also provide a full educational facility for the region’s schools and colleges.
The new centre design will be bigger, and is expected to bring in more revenue from the expanded restaurant and shop.
Councillor Marion Brighton, Leader of NKDC, said: “It is very fitting that there is a site dedicated to the bravery of those who served with Bomber Command not only from Lincolnshire but from around the world.
“It is something that we as a council have supported for many years, as a resource of international significance.
“The freedoms we enjoy today were hard won by those who courageously fought for our country. This must never be forgotten.”
IBCC Director Nicky Barr. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Nicky Barr, Director of the International Bomber Command Centre, said: “North Kesteven District Council has supported the planning and delivery of the International Bomber Command Centre since its launch in 2013.
“NKDC’s grant will directly finance a hub for visitor information at the centre and an accompanying portal on the website.
“This is the next step in that support,” she said. “The hub is being created to ensure that the wide and varied offering of the area is promoted to all visitors of the IBCC.
“These visitors will come not only from the region but from across the globe and this centre will provide a great opportunity to ensure that the rich heritage of the area and the array of visitor facilities are effectively marketed.
“Indeed the project has already hosted visitors from 13 different nations since the unveiling ceremony in October last year”
Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
In the first phase at the International Bomber Command Centre site, a 31.09m spire, which stands sentinel to the contribution made by Bomber Command during the war years, and the names of 26,296 men on the Memorial Walls were created.
The spire was unveiled before the biggest and last gathering of Bomber Command veterans in October 2015.
As well as covering the contribution of the men and women from more than 60 nations, the will bring to life the period of the War, the fight to gain recognition and the work undertaken to rebuild Europe’s cities.
Lincolnshire earned the title of ‘Bomber County’. With 27 stations, it housed more than a third of all the World War II Bomber Command Stations, accounting for almost half of the 55,573 total losses through the campaign.