Venue faces ‘almost impossible future’ after funding withdrawn

Lincoln City Council has withdrawn its funding for arts and events venue Lincoln Drill Hall, plunging its future into doubt.

In a statement on Twitter, the City Council said it lacked confidence in the “resilience” of the arts and cultural sector.

The statement said: “The Executive has decided that, considering the lack of financial viability of Lincoln Drill Hall and the uncertainty in relation to the resilience of arts and culture venues, the council will not renew Lincoln Arts Trust’s Service Level Agreement when it expires on 31 March 2021.”

Responding, Lincoln Drill Hall said: “The Trustees of Lincoln Arts Trust Limited were saddened last night that the City of Lincoln Council has voted to withdraw funding from Lincoln Drill Hall, not renewing the Service Level Agreement between the charity and Local Authority.

“The small, incredibly dedicated staff team have worked above and beyond what should have been expected to ensure residents of Lincoln have access to a dynamic, varied cultural offer. What we have achieved together so far has been incredible.

“The future was already challenging and Covid 19 made it moreso. However, plans were developing to adapt and reimagine Lincoln Drill Hall, so that the organisation could play an integral role in the healing process of Lincoln as we seek to recover from the effects of the pandemic.

“[The] decision has made what was already a challenging future almost impossible. In the coming days and weeks, we will have discussions with our other stakeholders about our future and will release further statements once these have taken place.”

Lincoln Drill Hall is a not-for-profit arts centre based in the city centre and host over 400 performances each year.