£5m to set up black culture centre

More than 10,000 documents telling the story of black Britain are to get a permanent home.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has confirmed a £4 million grant and the London Mayor a further
£1 million to transform a derelict building in Brixton into a centre for Black Cultural Archives. Lambeth council is also giving a 99-year lease for the building, Raleigh Hall.

Wesley Kerr, chairman of the HLF in London said: "The Black Cultural Archive's wonderful and growing collection is cherished by the local community and reflects the important contribution black Britons have made to all aspects of life in London and throughout the UK."

London mayor Boris Johnson said the centre would be a resource for the whole country.

The archive was established nearly 30 years ago and has amassed a unique collection of material covering five centuries relating to the lives of people of African and African-Caribbean descent in the UK.

Matthew Ryder, its chairman, said he hoped it would become a leading heritage site.