LONDON, ENGLAND.-Tony Jones, Heritage Lottery Fund Manager for the North West, commented: "We were asked for almost £1 million of Lottery money to rebuild what would effectively be an expensive reproduction. We absolutely agree that the Bluebird and Campbell Family story has a special place in our history but this expensive rebuild did not represent good value for money. We are still talking to the Ruskin Museum about other ways of telling this fascinating story."

Background: The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) was unable to support an application from the Ruskin Museum in Cumbria for the acquisition, restoration and display of the Bluebird K7 to full working order in March 2005. We have advised the applicant – the Ruskin Museum - that a conservation-led approach towards the restoration of Bluebird K7, leading to an interesting display in controlled conditions at the Ruskin Museum and celebrating the achievements she represents, is more likely to attract HLF funding support in the future. We had a very constructive meeting with the Museum in August to explore ways of taking this forward.

HLF has invested over £35.4million into Cumbria and will continue to support heritage-led projects in the region.