Department For Culture Media Sport
- Cultural organisations across the country given boost to level up opportunities to access the arts
- Beneficiaries of the third round of Cultural Investment Fund cover places from Basildon to Bradford
- Investment to support local economic growth follows bumper Budget result for arts sector
More than 70 cultural organisations across the country are to be given a financial boost by the government so they can improve peoples access to arts, support local economic growth through culture and safeguard vital local collections for future generations.
They will share a pot of 58.8 million which will see arts venues transformed, upgraded and created as part of the governments plans to make sure everyone, no matter where they live, can access the UKs world-renowned culture.
Basildon Borough Council will receive 4.4 million to turn empty properties in the town centre into a creative facility for screen and immersive digital industries. The project will help support businesses and freelancers working in the film, TV, gaming, VFX and animation sectors, further demonstrating the governments commitment to the creative industries as a priority growth sector.
Bradford, UK City of Culture 2025, will receive 4.9 million to redevelop the intercultural arts centre Kala Sangam and other cultural assets, to establish a network of local arts hubs and support the successful delivery of its year as the culture capital and beyond.
The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent will receive 5 million to build a wrap-around extension to improve facilities and accessibility and support local education, health and wellbeing projects.
Arts Council England will deliver this fund on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
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.
Darren Henley, Chief Executive of Arts Council England said:
Investment in creativity and culture is a catalyst for improving well-being and raising aspirations, reinvigorating pride in communities, regenerating high streets and local economies, and bringing people together. We are pleased to play a part in delivering the Cultural Investment Fund and this 58 million investment will help create new, or improve existing, cultural buildings and spaces in our villages, towns and cities. By doing so it will support recovery and growth and unlock the creative potential of those who live and work in communities across England.
Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England said:
Culture, heritage and the arts all contribute to peoples sense of belonging and place. These grants will help to reinforce this and we welcome them.
The fund, which totals more than 200 million and was launched in 2019, is made up of three separate streams, the Cultural Development Fund, the Libraries Improvement Fund and the Museum Estate and Development Fund. It is designed to protect and improve peoples access to culture, regenerate communities, upgrade buildings and digital infrastructure and use investment to promote economic growth.
In this round of funding, 32.4 million has gone to eight Cultural Development Fund projects, 4.9 million to 27 projects as part of the Libraries Improvement Fund and 21.4 million has gone to 36 museums through the Museum Estate and Development Fund.
This 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.
Extending these tax reliefs builds on the support the government has provided to the creative sectors. This includes the 1.6 billion Culture Recovery Fund that supported more than 5,000 organisations throughout the pandemic.
Other successful bidders today include:
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In Walsall, in the West Midlands, the Grade II* listed Guildhall building in St Matthews Quarter will be redeveloped as part of a 3.7 million project to deliver a three-year Cultural Activity Programme to reinvigorate and enliven this previously neglected corner of Walsall town centre.
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Cannon Hall in Barnsley will receive almost 900,000 to protect its stunning Grade II* listed Georgian country house and collection of fine and decorative art.
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350,000 will go to Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, the first publicly funded museum outside London, to improve infrastructure and protect its nationally important collections covering social and natural history.
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Essex County Council will receive 337,500 to transform the first floor of Colchester Library to provide an interactive learning and play space for children and families.
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In Stockton-on-Tees, 50,000 will allow the library service to update and develop its collaborative workspace with new and updated equipment, new programmes and opportunities for library users to engage with technology.
ENDS
Notes to editors
The Cultural Investment Fund covers the following three streams:
Cultural Development Fund
The Cultural Development Fund aims to level up through investment in culture. The fund unlocks local growth and productivity, promotes economic and social recovery from the impact of Covid-19, and regenerates communities through capital investment in transformative place-based creative and cultural initiatives.
This is the third round of the Cultural Development Fund, bringing the total amount of investment to 76.9 million, with 20 projects receiving funding. Places like Barnsley, Worcester, Plymouth, Stockport and the Isle of Wight received transformative funding through rounds one and two, creating jobs, unlocking economic growth and making places more attractive to live, work and visit.
Libraries Improvement Fund
The 20.5 million Libraries Improvement Fund will transform library services in England by helping them upgrade their buildings and improve digital infrastructure, so they are better placed to respond to the changing ways people are using them. Local authorities can bid for the money on behalf of their library services.
This is the second round of the fund with 25 projects already benefiting from 5 million of funding in the first round, including 495,000 to Sandwell Library and Information Service to install open access technology installed at 10 out of their 19 libraries, enabling users to access libraries beyond staffed opening hours. Guidance for the third and final round was published in February 2023.
Museum Estate and Development Fund
The 86.6 million 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 is the second round of funding, bringing the total amount of investment so far to more than 40 million for 67 museums. Round one of the fund saw support for places including Bristol Museum & Art Gallery and Bletchley Park near Milton Keynes.
Full list of recipients:
Cultural Development Fund
East of England
- 4,490,000 to Basildon Borough Council
East Midlands
- 5,000,000 to East Lindsey District Council
South East
- 3,500,000 to Institute Of Cultural & Creative Industries (Medway)
Yorkshire and the Humber
- 4,998,500 to Kala Sangam (Bradford)
North West
- 2,743,002 to Morecambe Winter Gardens
South West
- 3,000,000 to North Devon Council
West Midlands
- 5,000,000 to The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery (Stoke-on-Trent)
- 3,700,000 to Walsall Council
Libraries Improvement Fund
East Midlands
- 135,000 to Leicester Libraries
- 124,355 to Nottingham City Council Library Service
- 50,586 to Inspire Libraries (Nottinghamshire)
East of England
- 337,500 to Essex Libraries
- 219,000 to Suffolk Libraries
London
- 255,554 to Kingston Libraries
- 231,500 to Brent Libraries
- 150,000 to Croydon Libraries
- 125,000 to Barnet Libraries