City trust secures vital funding from Culture Recovery Fund

Sheffield City Trust has been awarded up to £2.243m in funding from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund.

The awarded grant is part of the Government’s £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund to help organisations survive the financial challenges caused by the Covid-19 crisis.

This money will be used to reduce the support subsidy required from Sheffield City Council and to continue to employ a small staff team at its entertainment venues.

It will enable a programme of events and associated building alterations when they are able to reopen fully and organise safe, socially-distanced trial events in the meantime.

Andrew Snelling, chief executive of Sheffield City Trust, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have received funding from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund.

“The impact of the pandemic has been incredibly challenging for our venues, each of which has a strong history and heritage across music, entertainment and community events.

“The financial impact of the pandemic has been significant on both our organisation as well as the local area. The Sheffield Arena alone brings £36m in the local economy each year.

“As Yorkshire’s number one arena, it regularly hosts the top events in music, comedy and family categories and is home to the UK’s largest ice hockey fanbase with the Sheffield Steelers Ice Hockey team, regularly bringing thousands of travelling fans to Sheffield.

“Supported by Sheffield City Council, we have been able to continue to work with promoters during the pandemic to confirm a range of high-profile events from Gary Barlow, Little Mix, Strictly Come Dancing, Katherine Ryan and Rob Brydon for when venues are able to reopen.

“In the meantime, we continue to work with Sheffield Teaching Hospitals on creative solutions to support the NHS, with our efforts being shortlisted in the recent NHS Excellence in Supply Awards.”

Councillor Mary Lea, cabinet member for culture, parks and leisure at Sheffield City Council, said: “This is fantastic news for Sheffield.

“As a city rich in cultural activity the venues run by Sheffield City Trust play an important role in attracting some of the biggest names in entertainment, across every genre.

“Our arts, entertainment and cultural industry has taken a huge hit, but we are working closely with all our partners, including Sheffield City Trust to make sure Sheffield comes out of this pandemic with a strong plan to re-establish our cultural credentials.”

Culture secretary, Oliver Dowden said: “These grants will help the places that have shaped our skylines for hundreds of years and that continue to define culture in our towns and cities.

“From St Paul’s and Ronnie Scott’s to The Lowry and Durham Cathedral, we’re protecting heritage and culture in every corner of the country to save jobs and ensure it can bounce back strongly.”

Sir Nicholas Serota, chairman of Arts Council England, said: “Culture makes a huge and increasing contribution to our national life, bringing communities together, fuelling our creative industries, and representing our country on the world stage.

“These grants add to those announced last month and will put these organisations in a better position to bounce back and help their communities recover from this crisis.”