Theresa May has urged her local council to reconsider plans to abolish its funding of the arts as concern grows about widespread cuts to the cultural sector across England.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM), one of the most affluent local authorities in England, is to decide on 22 February whether to make a 100% cut to its funding for the arts.
The council’s allocation for cultural services – including libraries, entertainment venues, museums, galleries and recreation facilities – has already been cut by 69% since 2009-10, according to an analysis of government data by the Public Campaign for the Arts (PCA). Across all English councils, funds have been cut by 50% since 2009-10.
The withdrawal of RBWM funding will put an arts centre in the former prime minister’s constituency at risk of closure. Norden Farm Centre for the Arts in Maidenhead said council funding was “absolutely essential to keep the charity going”.
May, the town’s MP for 25 years, said she had seen “first-hand the excellent programmes Norden Farm” delivered and just how valuable its work was for the local community.
She had spoken to the council, saying: “I am continuing to urge [it] to reconsider their position.” May hoped RBWM and Norden Farm would find a solution that would be “in the best interest of the entire local community”.
Andrew Johnson, the leader of the council, said: “The council has historically supported Norden Farm with an annual grant, and provided £80,000 this financial year, a significant support package in the context of the pandemic … Due to tight budgetary constraints it was made clear that last year the venue would receive a reduced grant and in 2022/23 grant funding would cease.”
In 2009-10, the amount spent on cultural services by English councils, adjusted for inflation, averaged £118.93 a person. In 2020-21, it was £59.90. In Windsor and Maidenhead, the figure was £131.75 in 2009-10 and £41.42 in 2020-21.
Eight local authorities made cuts of more than 80% to their spending on cultural services over the period.
Councils are now drawing up budgets for 2022-23. Some have already announced significant cuts as arts institutions struggle to rebuild after the impact of the Covid pandemic.
Guildford borough council has announced a cut of more than a third, from £310,000 to £200,000, over the next two years in its funding of the Yvonne Arnauld theatre.
Joanna Read, the venue’s director and chief executive, said: “The theatre has just come through the worst period of operation in its history. To receive this cut now, this lack of support, at such a critical time, is deeply demoralising.”
Jack Gamble, the director of the PCA, said further cuts would be a hammer blow to local arts services. He said: “We appreciate the financial pressures that councils are under, partly due to cuts from national government since 2010, but sacrificing our cultural services is not the answer.
“The arts are not a luxury – they provide vital benefits to our lives and communities. We have to find a way to keep funding them alongside other services – it shouldn’t be an either/or.”
Norden Farm, which has a 220-seat theatre, said it had already implemented changes to reduce costs and increase income. As well as council funding, the arts centre takes income from ticket sales, hire of its premises, memberships and donations.
Jane Corry, its chief executive and artistic director, said: “It’s very hard to see what else we can do. Core funding from RBWM is absolutely essential to keep the charity going.”
It “took 40 years of hard work” to secure sustainable funding for the centre, and “to lose that would be too tragic to imagine”, said Corry.
RBWM said it had held a “very positive meeting” with Norden Farm after a public consultation on the plans, adding that it was examining ways it could help the arts centre “to become more sustainable”.
The Old Court, a 148-seat theatre in Windsor, is also at risk as a result of the council’s zero-funding proposal.
Gerald Vernon-Jackson of the Local Government Association said: “Pressure on core council budgets in the past decade, alongside rising demand for statutory services like social care, has placed significant strain on cultural services, which are largely discretionary.
“Councils remain the biggest public funders of culture, spending over £1bn a year in England alone. They run a nationwide network of local cultural organisations, including 3,000 libraries, 350 museums, 116 theatres and numerous castles, amusement parks, monuments, historic buildings and heritage sites. However, these budgets remain under significant pressure.”
