Grand Theatre gets almost £400,000 council grant despite cuts

Wolverhampton's Grand Theatre has been given £383,000 from the city council, £10,000 lower than it got last year as the authority tries to make millions of pounds worth of cuts.

It comes after it was announced last month that funding for city culture hubs, such as Light House Theatre and Newhampton Arts Centre, would be gradually reduced as the council try to find £123 million in savings.

The authority has long given the Grand and other cultural hotspots such as the Civic Halls cash to help them operate and bring big name shows and acts to Wolverhampton.

And Councillor Elias Mattu said the council has given as much as it could to the theatre as officials were aware of the benefit it brings.

He said: "The Grand Theatre is incredibly crucial for the city.

"At the moment we are in a tough financial position because our government grant has been cut by 50 per cent.

"It was a £10,000 cut in funding for the Grand Theatre but we have kept it to an absolute minimum.

"Of course, we want the Grand Theatre to stay in Wolverhampton so we will do all we can to keep the funding for them.

"We are having to make some difficult decisions at the moment but in respect of the Grand Theatre, taking into account what it brings into the city, we did our best to minimise the cuts."

Councillor Mattu said that the theatre brings people into the city, and encourages people to spend money in local shops, bars and restaurants.

He added: "We would be a lot worse off without the Grand Theatre. It helps the culture of the city and contributes to the local economy as well.

"People come from neighbouring authorities and spend money in the local bars and we appreciate that."

Peter Cutchie, chief executive of the Grand Theatre, welcomed the funding.

He said: "The Grand Theatre gratefully acknowledges the grant aid received from the local authority and welcomes the city's confidence in the work that the theatre delivers for Wolverhampton and the surrounding areas.

"A recent survey commissioned by Wolverhampton City Council showed that for every £1 of subsidy the Grand Theatre receives £14 is returned in economic benefit to the city.

"The current Grant Aid represents less than eight per cent of the theatres total turnover which has decreased annually from 12 per cent over the last five years."

Last month, the council announced that as of 2015/16 Newhampton Arts Centre would no longer receive funding from the authority, while Light House Arts Centre had £33,000 cut from their funding this year.

It is the latest in a long line of cuts which will see 2,000 employees at the council lose their jobs, while the working week has been reduced to 35 hours for council workers.

A number of outdoor events have also suffered from the cuts, including open-air concert Wolvestock, earlier this year which was cancelled after poor ticket sales when it was moved indoors.