Covid-19

A drama school in Reading has warned that it will be forced to close by the end of the year if it cannot raise sufficient funds within the next 10 days.

In a statement published on its website, READ College, which has been operating for 15 years, said it is in financial trouble "due to the relentless cost-of-living crisis, our continuous recovery from Covid and the loss of our ability to host international students".

"READ College is facing a critical time," the statement said. 

"We have seen businesses and colleges close around us due to the rise in the cost of living and soaring energy prices, the nation is struggling and we now find ourselves in an unsustainable financial position."

It said that if sufficient funds are not raised by 12 December there will be "no choice but to close our doors at the end of this term".

It has launched a #SaveREADCollege campaign and is asking people to donate online.

English Heritage recorded a 16% increase in income in the past year, according to the conservation charity’s annual report for 2021/22.

Its total income increased from £99.8m to £116m, while total expenditure was up from £37.4m to £42.4m.

The charity’s membership base reached almost 1.2m, including 422,000 new sign ups in 2021/22, which saw membership income rise from £37.4m to £42.4m.

English Heritage says some of its 400-plus sites posted record visitor numbers too, which has been attributed to an increase in staycations following the peak of the pandemic.

But the charity is aware financial challenges could be ahead. It says a £80m grant from Historic England – presented when English Heritage became a charity in 2015 – is almost spent, alongside a series of Covid recovery grants.

Chair Sir Tim Laurence said 2021/22 was a “year of learning to live with Covid-19”.

“We and the rest of the world will be dealing with the financial impacts of the pandemic and of the war in Ukraine for some time to come,” he added.

“But I have every confidence in our ability to rise to the challenge.”

English Heritage’s annual report also confirmed staff numbers dropped from 2,245 to 2,117, while its gender pay gap narrowed from 10.3% to 7.8%.

A historic arts venue in Hastings is closing to the public due to the “devastating effects of the pandemic”.

St Mary in the Castle, a 200-year-old building on the seafront, had been under the care of the St Mary in the Castle Charitable Trust since 2013.

The trust, which was established to ensure the building’s maintenance and preservation, said it has been unable to renew its lease with Hastings Borough Council after it expired at the end of October.

“Unfortunately, the trust is unable to recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic without further financial subsidy to allow St Mary in the Castle to return to pre-pandemic operations,” it said in a statement.

“We projected this would not be until Spring 2023.”

The trust said pandemic led to fewer venue hires and lower audience numbers, leaving the venue unable to cover its costs. 

A spokesperson for Hastings Borough Council told Sussex Live that the council “simply does not have the resources available to support St Mary in the Castle,” despite efforts to save the venue.

“We met them on a number of occasions and gave them £18,000 last summer,” the spokesperson said.

“However even this, a grant of just over £50,000 from Arts Council England and over £87,000 for Covid recovery from the government through Hastings Borough Council appears not to have been enough, given the ever-increasing costs of running venues.”

People expect to attend art and culture events less in future than they did before the pandemic, a study has found.

A survey conducted by sector support organisation The Audience Agency found that large proportions of people say they will reduce spending overall and specifically on entertainment and leisure outside the home - doing less, travelling less and looking for more free options.

Of the 3,557 responses, 74% said the cost of living crisis meant they expect to do fewer paid-for entertainment and leisure activities over the next year. 

Most people expect to attend art forms less in future than they did before the pandemic with 34% of respondents saying they will attend film less than they did before the pandemic, 28% saying they will attend live performances less, and 21% saying they will visit indoor galleries, museums and heritage sites less.

Anne Torreggiani, Chief Executive of The Audience Agency, said the findings confirm the growing impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the sector. 

"It’s shocking to find out that three quarters of the population are predicting that they will have less to spend on arts and culture," she said.

"Keeping abreast of people’s changing priorities and habits are going to play a vital part in the sector’s resilience. We’re here to do that, to help organisations anticipate where the pressure points will be, to offer practical support in navigating them, to suggest how we can help our communities through the crisis."

The Edinburgh International Film Festival has been shut down with immediate effect after the charity that runs it, the Centre for the Moving Image (CMI), announced it had ceased trading and called in administrators.

In a statement CMI said the decision was taken as a result of the "perfect storm" of sharply rising costs, in particular energy costs, alongside reduced trade due to the ongoing impacts of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. 

CMI said that even with the recently announced energy price cap for businesses, its energy costs were likely to rise by approximately £200,000 over the next 12 months, and with the price cap only in place for six months, planning beyond March 2023 was "highly uncertain".

"The combination, and scale, of these challenges is unprecedented and means that there was no option but to take immediate action," the statement said.

As a result, Filmhouse Cinema and Café Bar in Edinburgh, Edinburgh International Film Festival and Belmont Filmhouse have all ceased trading immediately with administrators appointed for all entities.

Creative Scotland has warned that a combination of rising costs, falling income and the impact of Brexit means it is likely to have to cut the funding it provides to arts and culture organisations.

The Edinburgh Evening News reports that the quango, which funds venues, arts organisations, events and festivals, has said that maintaining standstill funding is “increasingly unviable” because of soaring additional costs.

Instead, it said it may have to cut back the number of organisations it provides long-term funding to in the future.

In a submission to Holyrood’s culture committee, which is taking evidence on how the Scottish cultural sector is currently funded, Creative Scotland said: “At the time of writing, there is no certainty as regards the Scottish Government budgets that will be allocated to Creative Scotland. The indications are that significant cuts are likely.

"We anticipate we may have to fund fewer organisations on a multi-year basis, but aim to fund them at a more sustainable level."