CLWYD South MP Simon Baynes has welcomed £161,000 worth of National Lottery support to help address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic at Llangollen Railway.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded Llangollen Railway with funding through their Heritage Emergency Fund which provides assistance to organisations within the heritage sector struggling during the pandemic.

Mr Baynes previously highlighted the importance of Clwyd South tourism and hospitality businesses in Questions to the Prime Minister, and asked him to congratulate the Llangollen Steam Railway team for their hard work fundraising during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

He said: “Everyone in the area knows how tremendously important the Llangollen Steam Railway is to us as a community. So I’m delighted to see it benefitting from vital National Lottery Heritage Emergency Funding.”

“The whole Steam Railway team work incredibly hard to ensure visitors to Llangollen receive a warm welcome and a great experience so I’m very happy to see them secure this much needed help.”

Since the start of the pandemic, Llangollen Railway has been working hard to raise funds to ensure its survival.

It is putting many changes in place to help secure its future and the Lottery funding will help the organisation to implement its recent governance review.

Previously, Liz McGuinness, general manager at Llangollen Railway, said: “Thanks to the National Lottery and its players we can now look forward to a secure future for our Heritage Railway and we can continue to support our local economy.

“We’re grateful that The National Lottery Heritage Fund is supporting us at this crucial time – it’s a lifeline to us and others who are passionate about sustaining heritage for the benefit of all.”

The funding, made possible by National Lottery players, was awarded through The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Heritage Emergency Fund.

£50million was made available to provide emergency funding for those most in need across the heritage sector.