CASTLE Howard has been given a £4.5 million loan to help it survive the pandemic - while the firm which built Shakespeare's Rose Theatre in York has been given a £4 million loan.

Thirsk and Malton MP, Kevin Hollinrake said a total of £5,369,640 had been allocated from the Cultural Recovery Fund for culture and heritage organisations in his constituency to help make them financially secure over coming months.

He said the Castle Howard Estate was receiving £4,540,000, the North Yorkshire Moors Historical Railway Trust £578,000, the Ryedale Folk Museum £39,950, the Palace Cinema in Malton £21,490, Rural Arts North Yorkshire £55,000, the Wesley Centre in Malton £39,000, Pickering Methodist Church £28,700 and Scampston Hall & Walled Garden £67,500.

The MP said: "This money will help some of our most important cultural attractions reopen and thrive in the months ahead.

"I’m really excited that, as we set out on our roadmap to reopen this sector, we will soon be able to enjoy these fantastic institutions again."

He added that thanks to the hugely successful vaccination programme, people can now 'see light at the end of a twelve month long tunnel.'

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said the fund was helping thousands of culture and heritage organisations across the country survive the biggest crises they’ve ever faced.

Meanwhile, Acorn Event Structures of Sherburn-in-Elmet, which provides temporary structures and staging for outdoor cultural and sporting events, has received a £4m loan from the fund.

The firm works mainly in the event, arts, film, television and sporting sectors, providing bespoke temporary structures and staging for world-class events, and in 2018 it created the pop-up open air theatre in York's Castle Car Park, which staged two acclaimed summer seasons of Shakespeare plays.

It employs 70 full-time staff and as many as 220 at the height of the events season.

A spokesman said: "The £4 million Culture Recovery Fund loan will enable the business to protect jobs and build a post-Covid-19 resilience plan that will include developing new, innovative techniques for temporary structures."

Director Rebecca Nutter said that in March 2020 , the firm's order book was at a record high and it was looking forward to providing staging and temporary structures for regular clients including the Chelsea Flower Show, Goodwood Festival of Speed, Creamfields and Frieze Art Fair.

“Covid-19 has had a huge impact on the event, culture, arts and heritage sectors and most of our clients are in these areas," she said.

"We are grateful for the opportunity the Culture Recovery Fund has provided to help us build a sustainable and resilient future as we come out of this global pandemic.

“Our accountants, Garbutt + Elliott, have also been extremely helpful and professional in providing the necessary financial details and projections to support our application to the Culture Recovery Fund and integrate this to our business development plan.”