Mark Francois, MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, has recently expressed his support for the proposed new Rayleigh Town Museum by becoming a founding member of the recently established Rayleigh Town Museum Friends Group.
Mark was disappointed to hear that the group were unsuccessful in their initial bid for funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund but Mark has encouraged the group to resubmit their application in the near future and has promised to support the revised bid, when it is presented to the HLF.
Commenting on the proposal, Mark said:
"Mike Davies and his team, who are pushing the idea of a museum for Rayleigh, have done a brilliant job so far and it was disappointing to hear that the Heritage Lottery Fund turned them down, first time around. However, having read the letter from the HLF, it did not sound like an outright rejection and I understand that Mike has since had a debrief from HLF officials who have encouraged him to reapply. I am fully behind this initiative and I have joined the Friends Group to help demonstrate my support. I hope that other people in Rayleigh may also decide to join the Friends Group, as the more momentum we can develop behind the bid the greater its chance of success."