Rye News has just received this statement from the charity aiming to take over the running of the Heritage Centre:
"I’m pleased to report that RTC have offered the recently formed Rye Heritage Centre charity a five year lease on the premises at the Strand to allow the Town Model to continue operating and to provide opportunities for expanding exhibits about Rye’s history.
From April 2020 Tourist Information will be provided by RTC from the Town Hall, with the Heritage Centre (including the Town Model) at Strand Quay being operated by the new charity.
There is a lot of work to be done on the finer details of the agreement but the charity will now formalise its status with a bid for Charity Commission Registration, fundraising will begin in earnest and a volunteer base will be properly established.”
[Editor's note: Rye News reported just before Christmas that Rye Town Council had raised £120,000 by the sale of a bust in the Town Hall's attic which had been valued initially at between £15, 000 and £20,000.
That sale was necessary because the council's subsidy of the Heritage Centre over a period of time had severely depleted the council's General Reserve and resulted in the decision to look for someone else to run the Heritage Centre.]
