Bristol arts funding protected for three more years in council U-turn
Arts funding in Bristol will be protected in full for at least three more years, after planned cuts that leaders feared would put jobs at risk were put on hold.
Bristol City Council leader Tony Dyer confirmed the move in a blog, in which he said the council would "preserve the Cultural Investment Programme for the next three years and remove proposals to reduce this fund, meaning we can protect funding for our cultural organisations".
At the end of last year, the council had proposed reductions to the fund, which would have seen a phased reduction before possibly closing it for future rounds. The cuts were initially floated in January 2025, before being deferred in February and revisited at the end of 2025.
The shelving of the proposed cuts has been welcomed by Equity, which had been campaigning against the proposals.
However, the union has also warned that the council’s plans beyond the next three years were unclear, as it vowed to continue to fight for arts funding in the city.
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According to the council, the Cultural Investment Programme for 2023 to 2027 had a total grant budget of £2,442,240.
Equity President Lynda Rooke said: “We are relieved that Bristol City Council has decided not to cut its Cultural Investment Programme."
She added: “For now, artists can continue to work and earn a living in the city, contributing to the local economy and enriching the community. However, the previously planned cuts have underlined the precarity faced by creatives, who often rely on insecure sources of funding to sustain their work and livelihoods. We do not know what the council’s plan is beyond the next three years, but Equity’s Bristol and West of England Branch will continue to fight to protect the arts in our community.”
According to the council, the decision follows “discussions, consultation and engagement with the city’s cultural sector and residents about the areas of the council’s budget that matters most to them”.
“The commitment removes the savings proposal put forward during the recent budget consultation to reduce funding for the programme over the next three years," it said.
Dyer said: "I’m delighted that through working together with councillor Ani Townsend, officers and local culture sector leaders, we’ve been able to find a means that protects this fund for the next three years. We won’t be resting on our laurels, however, and intend to use that time to continue our work to create a new culture fund that would provide a greater level of sustainability – and stability – by putting it beyond the impact of local and national political decision making.”
Townsend, culture lead for Bristol City Council, added: “This decision reaffirms our commitment to our culture sector and our promise to listen and act where we can. We have never wavered in our support for local culture and creative organisations: whether it’s through investing in our museums, supporting events with space or in-kind support, or working together to bid to become the UK’s next City of Culture, we value our local sector."
The council’s Cultural Investment Programme provides grants for Bristol-based organisations and individuals to deliver arts and culture activities, events or festivals.
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