The government has unveiled a new £15m fund to promote cultural projects in urban areas. The new initiative, known as the Urban Cultural Programme, is designed to support projects which were initiated during last year?s competition to find the European Capital of Culture (ECOC) 2008, a competition which was ultimately won by Liverpool. The fund is made up of £5m from Arts Council England (ACE) and £10m of Millennium Commission funds, and will support activities over the next two years.
Launching the scheme, Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell said, ?Twelve cities produced really outstanding bids during last year?s competition, and this grant will help build on this. But it is not only the bidding cities that can apply. Applications will be welcome from across the country.? However, with the deadline for applications set for the end of next month, it is clear that these cities will be in a strong position. In a letter sent to the eleven that lost out, Jowell suggested they would be at the head of the queue for the new funding. ?The Urban Cultural Programme is not available exclusively for the ECOC cities because Lottery rules insist that distributors must ask for applications and that others must be free to apply. But I am sure that the work you have already done for the ECOC bids will help enormously with the preparation of an application should you wish to apply for this competition.?
The money is principally designed to fund activities such as festivals and cultural programmes; capital work will only be funded where it is a minor and integral part of the programme. Applications must come from cities with a minimum population of 120,000. Minimum grants will be £500,000 and matching funding will be required. Projects from across Britain will be supported but ACE money will only be spent on projects in England. Implicit in the criteria is an emphasis on populist projects.
Shirley McCay, Head of Economic Initiatives at Belfast City Council said, ?Our experience of bidding for the ECOC designation gave us a more robust picture of our cultural strengths. There are some very exciting cultural developments in the pipeline ? so we are looking forward to being able to give those a real boost.? Kris Donaldson, Marketing Director of the Liverpool Culture Company, which is overseeing plans for 2008, said, ?We are looking at several projects which we hope to submit within the next few weeks. The enthusiasm in the city has generated hundreds of ideas for 2008, many of which have not been costed but look very exciting, so any additional revenue streams could bring some of these to life.?
In addition to the £15m, £200,000 has been made available to support activities linking Liverpool?s plans for 2008 and the programmes of other ECOC cities. Significant additional funding is still expected to be channelled direct from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to Liverpool to support the 2008 programme, but as yet, no firm guarantees have been made. In a speech to the Local Government Association this week, Arts Minister Estelle Morris said, ?We will look at what is achieved with this funding, and through the Urban Cultural Programme in deciding what more might be done in future.?