• Nationally, over £390 million worth of funding has been allocated to over 2,700 arts, culture and heritage organisations in England.
• Four Furness-based organisations are in line for additional support from the Culture Recovery Fund, including The Roxy Cinema in Ulverston, Signal Film and Media, Ulverston’s Coronation Hall, and the Bread and Butter Theatre Company

The £154,000 follows previous awards from the Government to Furness-based organisations. Furness’ cultural sector has been supported by almost £1m of direct government funding since the pandemic began

• Funding welcomed by Dame Judi Dench, Dame Julie Walters, Hugh Bonneville and Stephen Fry

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has announced details of over 2,700 organisations being offered nearly £400 million in grants and loans to help the culture and heritage sector reopen and recover. This includes grants to local institutions like the Roxy Cinema in Ulverston, Signal Film and Media, Ulverston’s Coronation Hall, and the Bread and Butter Theatre Company.

This brings the Government’s total investment across grants, capital and repayable finance from the Culture Recovery Fund so far to more than £1.2 billion across over 5,000 individual cultural and heritage organisations and sites.

The funding was reserved in the first round of the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to allow the Government to respond to the changing public health picture. With more than 70% of funding going outside of London, it will help organisations across the country as they welcome back visitors and return to normal operating models in the months ahead.

Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said:

“Our record breaking Culture Recovery Fund has already helped thousands of culture and heritage organisations across the country survive the biggest crisis they’ve ever faced.

“Now we’re staying by their side as they prepare to welcome the public back through their doors – helping our cultural gems plan for reopening and thrive in the better times ahead.”

Simon Fell, Member of Parliament for Barrow and Furness, said:

“I am delighted to see Furness institutions like The Roxy, Coronation Hall, Signal Film and Media, and the Bread and Butter Theatre Company get this level of support from the Government’s Cultural Recovery Fund.

“This has been an incredibly tough year for the arts and heritage organisations that help tie Furness’ communities together, attract tourists, and make this a fantastic place to live. I’m glad that the government has given them this tremendous level of support to see them through until June when we can open back up again.”

Dame Judi Dench, Oscar® award-winning actor (Shakespeare in Love, Philomena, Mrs Brown, Skyfall), a patron of the Phoenix East Finchley and the Theatre by the Lake which hosts the Keswick Film Festival and a BFI Fellow said:

“Local cinemas are a vital part of our cultural lives, enthralling us with films about lives that we recognise as well as offering us stories about other cultures from around the world. They are places where people come together for a shared experience and have inspired many to make their careers on screen. We need to make sure that generations today and in the future have the same opportunities to enjoy and take part in the communal big screen experience.”

Nearly all of the original £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund has now been allocated, with over £1.2 billion in grants and repayable finance offered to more than 5,000 individual organisations and sites, and further grants to be finalised over the coming weeks. £188 million has been given to the devolved administrations through the Barnett formula, with Northern Ireland receiving £33 million, Scotland £97 million and Wales £59 million. £100 million has been given to national cultural institutions in England and the English Heritage Trust.

At last month’s Budget, the Chancellor announced a £300 million boost for the Culture Recovery Fund, as part of a wider £408 million package for arts and culture taking direct government investment in the sector since the start of the pandemic stands at almost £2 billion. Further details on the third round of the Culture Recovery Fund will be available in due course.