Rescues and reprieves as some councils reconsider culture cuts

Bristol City Council has become the latest local authority to reconsider proposals to cut culture funding.

In postponing planned cuts to its 2025/26 cultural budget until 2026/27 following “substantial” negative feedback, it has joined several other councils rowing back on proposals.

Last month, the council put forward a range of savings options which included slashing its arts and culture provision after estimating that by gradually phasing out its Cultural Investment Programme, while honouring current grants, it could save £635,000 between now and 2027.

The programme has supported a wide range of projects including festivals, theatres and workshops.

The council also considered closing Blaise Museum, the Georgian House Museum, and the Red Lodge Museum, as well as reducing the opening hours of its archives search room, to save a further £167,000 in total.

However, in its draft budget considered by the Strategy and Resources Committee this month, the local authority deferred all these cuts for 12 months.

It said it hopes the move will allow local arts organisations the opportunity to source alternative funding options.

In a blog on the council’s website, leader Tony Dyer said that the postponement would “enable officers and councillors to work with the city to identify alternative options for these important aspects of Bristol’s cultural landscape”.

The plans had received strong criticism from opposition councillors and performers’ union Equity. The trade union said the proposal to close the Cultural Investment Programme was “especially concerning as it has been the lifeblood of stable funding for arts and cultural activities, festivals and partnerships”.

£1.5bn support package

Dyer noted that despite the difficulty it had faced balancing the books, Bristol was not in the position of dozens of other councils which had appealed to the government for exceptional financial support to avoid bankruptcy.

Last week, 30 English councils were granted exceptional financial support packages, allowing them to collectively borrow a total of up to £1.5bn to fill budget gaps.

Among those granted bailouts are seven London boroughs, as well as six councils – Birmingham, Croydon, Nottingham, Slough, Thurrock and Woking – that have recently declared effective bankruptcy.

Granting the support package, for the first time, the government has included constraints to prevent those in receipt of a bailout from selling “community and heritage assets”. The condition follows concerns last year that cash-strapped councils, including Birmingham, may be considering a ‘fire sale’ of assets, including arts collections.

Speaking as he announced Bristol council’s forthcoming spending plans, Dyer said “We cannot escape the challenge we and councils across the country face in balancing our budgets whilst meeting rising demand, growing costs and changing regulations,” he said, adding: “I hope [Labour] live up to their promises and provide the level of funding we need.” 

‘No choice’ but to consider options

Bristol is one of the several councils to reconsider proposals to cut culture funding.

Last week Peterborough City Council shelved plans to cut opening hours at Peterborough Museum & Art Gallery to save cash.

Approving its forthcoming budget, the council said it would not make any changes in the short term and instead work with the museum to “achieve savings by reducing the opening hours”.

In Walsall, a proposal put forward for 2025/2026 to relocate the town’s Leather Museum from its current site into a new central location, has also been scrapped from the council’s budget.

Meanwhile, Leeds City Council has withdrawn plans to close Abbey House Museum following an “incredibly passionate” response to its public consultation.

Councillor Salma Arif said, “The overriding sentiment has been that people across Leeds clearly recognise the unique social value of our museums and galleries to their communities and local heritage.

She continued “We have always been clear that these types of proposals are not ones that we ever want to bring forward. But the severe and sustained pressures on our budget have given us no choice but to consider some options which we would never normally look at.”