Arts funding

Greenham Trust has granted £20k of match funding to Watermill Theatre to help “secure the future work” of the former Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation.

The support is being offered via a fundraising alliance established by Greenham Trust to support the Newbury venue following its 100% ACE funding cut announced in November 2022.

The alliance, which also includes The Headley Trust, the Bernard Sunley Foundation and Englefield Charitable Trust, has provided £78k of funding to the 200-seat theatre, pledged to match public donations to Watermill’s PROPEL campaign.

“As soon as we heard about the funding cut by [ACE], we realised there would be a need to engage a number of local funders...in helping The Watermill," said Chris Boulton, CEO of Greenham Trust.

"This was quickly put together working with their team, and I hope our £20k contribution so far will generate another matched-funding boost for their already successful PROPEL Campaign.”

Claire Murray, Executive Director at Watermill Theatre, added: “By establishing the funding alliance, Greenham Trust has gone further in securing the future work of The Watermill."

Ipswich Borough Council (IBC) has voted to continue supporting the redevelopment of Ipswich Museum after a £2.7m overspend.

The museum closed in October 2022 for renovations and expansion, initially budgeted at £8.7m, half of which was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF).

Now with an estimated cost of £11.4m, after rising inflation and supply chain issues, IBC voted on 6 February to ensure the project is delivered in full, unanimously deciding to apply for a second round of funding from the NLHF.

According to a council report, NLHF has indicated that it will consider an additional funding application if the council provides match funding.  

At a committee meeting, the council was warned that, if rejected, the project could be subject to a complete review, halting it for at least 18 more months.

"It's really hard to see what other option we have because we are so far down this road now," said Conservative councillor Ian Fisher.

"If we don't vote for it, we get something that's not going to be anywhere near what we wanted."

Labour councillor Carole Jones, portfolio holder for planning and museums, said: "There are improvements that we need to make, and this is not an extravagant scheme.

"We are where we are, and we can only go forward."

Collective management organisation PPL paid out £279.6m to 165,000 performers and recording rights holders in 2023.

This marks an increase of £34.9m (14.3%) on the previous year and is the highest annual total ever paid out in PPL’s 90-year history.

The £279.6m includes a payment of £7.7m by VPL, PPL’s sister company, which licences music videos when they are played in public or broadcast on TV. The £7.7m was a £1.6m increase on the previous year.

PPL cited the continued recovery from the Covid pandemic, as more businesses re-opened in the UK and globally, as a key factor in achieving the record total.

Its members receiving payouts range from independent and major record companies, to grassroots artists, session musicians and globally renowned artists. 

“We understand these payments are critical for many and we pride ourselves on our ability to deliver them consistently and on time,” said PPL CEO Peter Leathem.

“As neighbouring rights continue to develop around the world, we see a huge opportunity ahead to grow our market share and maximise revenues for performers and recording rights holders.”

Council spending on cultural services fell by 43% between 2010-11 and 2022-23 in real terms, according to analysis by The Guardian.

During that period, the figures show a decline in local authority investment in all areas except social care, with cuts of 40% for roads and transport, 35% for housing and 33% for planning and development.

The analysis follows an announcement from the government of a £600m support package for councils, which will see an additional £500m added to the Social Care Grant to help fund children's and adult social care.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer told Arts Professional that protecting these services will "reduce pressure on council’s budgets, and allow local authorities to continue to support the cherished arts venues, libraries, youth services and leisure centres at the heart of our communities". 

Speaking to The Guardian, Shadow Communities Secretary Angela Rayner said libraries, sports centres and youth provision were “not a garnish” and rejected calls from some Conservatives to reduce the types of services that councils had to offer.

“What’s very clear to me is that we are going to inherit a very difficult situation because the Tories have brought [councils] to the brink, offering them a very small amount of money now which cynically to me is about them trying to just get them over the line for a general election,” she said.

“But it’s not going to do anything about the long-term problems that we would inherit and we’re under no illusions about the scale of those problems.”

Around 26 English councils have declared or are on the verge of bankruptcy, with dozens more dealing with high debt levels. Recently, several local authorities, including Bournemouth, Somerset, Hampshire, Suffolk, Coventry, Bristol, Nottingham, Birmingham, and Leeds, have proposed cuts to their cultural services as they look to prioritise funds for social care.