Chichester Festival Theatre returns £141 for every pound of investment

Chichester District Council has extended £187,500 of annual grant funding for Chichester Festival Theatre after an economic impact assessment found every £1 of funding resulted in £141 of economic activity.

Councillors also agreed to extend £130,000 for the same period, April 2025 to March 2026, to Pallant House Gallery, which provides £54 of economic activity for each pound invested.

“At the moment, the new government is undertaking a spending review, and so we need to wait for the results of this before the council can plan its own spending with more certainty,” councillor John Cross told More Radio.

“However, we realise what a huge contribution both these organisations make to our district culturally, economically, and socially, and we wanted to ensure that they continued to be supported over the next year.

“The cultural grant that we provide to the theatre also enables it to unlock further crucial funding of over £1.7m each year from Arts Council England.”

“Economically, both organisations make a huge contribution to the area, using many local businesses and suppliers.”

“The recent economic impact assessment for Chichester Festival Theatre found it had a gross economic output of just over £25m and supported 486 jobs, while Pallant House Gallery has a gross economic output of £9.3m and supports 135 jobs.

“The arts are there for everyone to access and benefit from, and both these organisations work hard to offer a huge range of inclusive activities, events and other opportunities beyond their headline shows and exhibitions.

“These make a huge difference to many hard-to-reach groups and have a positive impact on people’s mental health and general wellbeing.”