Over £82,000 lifeline for cultural organisation in Cheshire from the Government’s £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Arts Council England has today announced further awards from its £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund: £58.9 million has been awarded through the Fund’s Capital Kickstart grants programme and over £165 million has been offered through the Repayable Finance programme.

The Capital Kickstart grants will help cultural organisations across the country cover additional costs, caused by Covid-related delays or fundraising shortfalls, to their capital projects, including building works, refurbishments and large-scale equipment purchases. 

£82,476 has been awarded to Action Transport Theatre in Ellesmere Port from the programme to help deliver a project which will help to strengthen the region’s cultural infrastructure.

The Repayable Finance programme will provide loans of £3million and above to some of England’s largest and most prestigious cultural organisations, helping them to weather the effects of the pandemic and reopen when it is safe to do so.  These loans have been tailored specifically to be affordable for cultural organisations and are offered on generous terms with an initial repayment holiday of up to four years, a low interest rate and up to 20-year repayment term.

Today’s announcement follows several previous rounds of investment from the Culture Recovery Fund, which saw £428 million distributed to over 2000 cultural organisations though the Grants programme, alongside the £3.36million Emergency Grassroots Music Venues Fund. The financing announced today takes the total allocated from the Culture Recovery Fund over £1 billion, delivering on the government’s commitment to be here for culture in every corner of the country during this pandemic.

Sarah Maxfield, Area North Director, Arts Council England said:

“The pandemic has had a massive impact on the whole range of organisations working in the North’s cultural sector - theatres, music venues, festivals, museums and the companies who support them with technical sound, light and staging services.

“The cultural sector makes a huge contribution to the North’s economy and the quality of life of its communities.

“The funding will support arts organisations across the North to continue with their ambitious capital plans which have been put on pause during the pandemic. This investment is an essential lifeline for the cultural sector, it will help to secure the long term future of North ’s cultural infrastructure and the wider cultural ecology who rely on these organisations to showcase their work.”

Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said:

“This government promised it would be here for culture and today’s announcement is proof we’ve kept our word.

“The £1 billion invested so far through the Culture Recovery Fund has protected tens of thousands of jobs at cultural organisations across the UK, with more support still to come through a second round of applications.

“Today we’re extending a huge helping hand to the crown jewels of UK culture - so that they can continue to inspire future generations all around the world.”

Nina Hajiyianni, Artistic Director/CEO, Action Transport Theatre, said:

"We are extremely grateful for crucial government support made possible through the Culture Recovery Fund and Capital Kickstart programme. Our award will mean that we can successfully deliver our transformational capital programme for Whitby Hall, our much loved but run-down building in Ellesmere Port, along with vital investment provided by Cheshire West and Chester Council. The disruption and impact of Covid on our planned programme was presenting huge financial challenges and we are so pleased that we can look forward to 2021 with increased confidence and excitement. Opening the doors to our new theatre and cultural centre in Ellesmere Port will significantly contribute to Covid recovery, positioning a new programme of arts and culture for local people, especially children, young people and families."

New £400 million Culture Recovery Fund round

Plans for allocating the remainder of the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund are also being announced today by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Funding held back in previous rounds to allow the Government to respond to the changing public health picture will be available for organisations who are at imminent risk of collapse before the end of this Financial Year. £300 million in grants and £100 million in loans will also be available to support organisations’ transition back to usual operating mode from April 2021. Further detail on the rounds will be released in due course.

Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. We have set out our strategic vision in Let’s Create that by 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high quality cultural experiences. We invest public money from Government and The National Lottery to help support the sector and to deliver this vision. www.artscouncil.org.uk

Following the Covid-19 crisis, the Arts Council developed a £160 million Emergency Response Package, with nearly 90% coming from the National Lottery, for organisations and individuals needing support. We are also one of several bodies administering the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund and unprecedented support package of £1.57 billion for the culture and heritage sector. Find out more at www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19.