Following the DCMS’s announcement of the criteria for the £270 million repayable finance scheme to aid cultural organisations’ recovery, Theatres Trust have released the following statement
Tom Stickland, Theatres Advisor at Theatres Trust, comments:
The announcement of £55m Cultural Capital Kickstart Fund is extremely welcome and will get vital theatre capital projects moving again, improving environmental sustainability, and provide new and improved facilities for engaging with their local communities.
Theatres Trust research has found that major theatre capital projects that were on site are reporting an average of over 3 months delay as a result of lockdown and slower working on site due to social distancing. We have identified more than £65m shortfall in projects on site and at an advanced stage of planning as a result of these cost rises, the reallocation of reserves to support the theatre’s survival and changes to the capital funding landscape, which has seen major capital funders divert or pause their grant giving to respond to the crisis.
Investment in cultural infrastructure supports growth in local economies and enhances sense of local identity. In the longer term we would hope to see further government investment to fill the emerging funding gap.