£1.6m cash to support struggling Hull venues
GOVERNMENT FUNDING FOR THEATRE
TWO Covid-hit council-run venues in Hull have been thrown a £1.6m lifeline.
Both Hull New Theatre and Hull City Hall in the city centre have been closed since the start of the national lockdown in March.
Since then, neither has reopened and they are expected to remain closed at least until early 2021.
Staff at both venues who work for the council-owned operators Hull Culture and Leisure Ltd have been on furlough for the past seven months.
On Saturday, it was announced the Government has awarded Hull City Council a £1.6m grant from its cultural recovery fund to support the two venues.
Culture secretary Oliver Dowden said: “These places are irreplaceable parts of our heritage and what make us the cultural superpower we are.
“This vital funding will secure their future and protect jobs right away.”
Sarah Maxfield, Arts Council England’s northern area director, said: “The pandemic has had a massive impact on the whole range of organisations working in the North’s cultural sector - theatres, music venues, festivals, museums and the companies who support them with technical sound, light and staging services.
“The cultural sector makes a huge contribution to the North’s economy, quality of life and communities.
“Today (Saturday) we are announcing much needed investment and support from the government’s culture recovery fund to a group of organisations across the North providing an essential lifeline so the cultural sector can survive and come back strongly in the future.”