A museum and gallery is set to receive almost £200,000 in a funding boost.

Whistable Community Museum and Gallery is one of many across the country which will receive a share of almost £60 million.

The initiative has been set up by the government and more than 70 cultural organisations will get a share of the cash from the the Cultural Investment Fund.

The funding is being given out in a bid to improve people's access to arts, support local economic growth through culture and safeguard vital local collections for future generations.

Those set to benefit from the £58.8 million, announced today by Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, include museums, cultural venues and public libraries across England.

The venue in Oxford Street, Whitstable is one of 36 museums to receive a boost in this round of funding and will get £175,000.

Round one of the fund saw support for places including Bristol Museum and Art Gallery and Bletchley Park near Milton Keynes.

The fund totals more than £200m and was launched in 2019. It is made up of three separate streams, the Cultural Development Fund, the Libraries Improvement Fund and the Museum Estate and Development Fund.

In this round of funding, £32.4m has gone to eight Cultural Development Fund projects, £4.9m to 27 projects as part of the Libraries Improvement Fund and £21.4m has gone to 36 museums through the Museum Estate and Development Fund.

The announcement follows a big boost for the cultural sector in the Spring Budget with an extension of tax reliefs for theatres, orchestras, and museum and gallery exhibitions for a further two years.

These tax reliefs have already supported thousands of theatre and orchestral productions, galleries and museums across the country and the extension is set to help the cultural sector continue to attract new talent and investment from home and abroad.

The £86.6m Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) helps fund urgent museum maintenance and infrastructure works. Arts Council England accredited museums in England that are not directly funded by DCMS can apply.

'This funding will support brilliant arts organisations to upgrade their venues and create new projects that will be at the heart of their communities...'

Culture secretary Lucy Frazer said: "This investment will help to level up access to arts and culture for everyone, no matter where they live.

"Culture helps us create lifelong memories with our families and friends, provides entertainment and joy, and allows us to explore the world around us in new and exciting ways. It can also boost tourism, support local business and drive local economic growth.

"This funding will support brilliant arts organisations to upgrade their venues and create new projects that will be at the heart of their communities.”

The Institute of Cultural and Creative Industries in Medway is also set to receive £3.5m.