Council ‘steps in’ to help struggling arts organisations

Taunton Town Council has granted almost £110,000 to help local arts organisations suffering funding difficulties meet their running costs.

The Brewhouse Theatre received £28,940, while the Museum of Somerset got £30,500, and the town's Creative Innovation Centre was awarded £49,500.

The move follows measures by the council to "secure the future of Taunton" following a financial crisis at Somerset Council, increasing its share of council tax and taking on some services previously operated by the county.

Vickie Robbins, Executive Director of Taunton Brewhouse, told BBC Radio Somerset that, without the funding, its Community Learn Programme would have been cut. 

"It's very important to us to keep that going," she said. "With the support of Taunton Town Council, we will be able to keep that going for at least another year, which is great."

Meanwhile, Sam Astill, Executive Director of South West Heritage Trust, which runs the Museum of Somerset, said the "serious chunk of money" would offset some of the museum's challenges.

"It's a grant towards core costs," he said. "That grant will, in turn, help us continue to be able to deliver our programmes for schools, for families and young people, and to deliver exhibitions at the museum, so it's a really important investment to the future of the site."

Councillor Tom Deakin said: "When we took the difficult decision to increase our precept for the 2024/25 financial year, we had in mind the need to ensure that we had funding available to secure the future of Taunton as a prosperous town, considering the financial crisis at Somerset Council."

"With three of the town's key cultural attractions, the Museum of Somerset, The Brewhouse Taunton and the Creative Innovation Centre all telling us through their applications that they were at risk due to lack of funding, it was only right that we stepped in."