News

The theatre impresario’s company, LW Theatres, is challenging a £280k charge incurred for suspending parking facilities while the Theatre Royal Drury Lane is revamped, accusing the council of searching for “windfall financial gains”.

‘Love Culture, Hate Cuts’, a petition created by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the MAC and Town Hall Symphony Hall in protest at council plans to cut arts funding by 50%, has gained the support of more than 4,000 local people. The council will hold a public meeting to discuss the potential cuts this week.

A music teacher who played an integral role in turning around the fortunes of a Bradford primary school through a new creative education programme is one of three teachers from England on the shortlist selected from more than 10,000 nominations from 179 countries for the Varkey Foundation’s “best teacher” prize.

In a change of direction for major plans to replace the venue, which was badly damaged in a 2014 fire, Derby Council has approved a £24m project to remodel the building’s entrance and lobby, refurbish the bar area and create new multifunctional rooms. The anticipated opening date is autumn 2020.

Paloma Faith, Billy Bragg and Annie Lennox are among 85 musicians and music industry workers who have signed a new open letter arguing that leaving the customs union and the single market could “devastate” touring and artistic production.

The Grand Palais, The Musée des Arts Décoratifs and photography gallery Jeu de Paume offered limited or no access at the weekend. Some of the Jeu de Paume’s windows were smashed during riots.

A survey by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (Cipfa) finds that 130 public libraries have closed in the last year, continuing a trend that has been ongoing since 2010. Cipfa’s CEO said libraries were “a canary in the coal mine for what is happening across the local government sector”.