Council launches £500,000 arts fund after budget u-turn

Suffolk County Council has opened a £500,000 Culture Project Fund after announcing plans to cut its core arts funding completely earlier this year.

Previously, nine organisations received regular funding from the council, but the new fund will be open to all  arts and museum organisations, freelancers, charities, non-profits, community-focused companies and social enterprises based in the county.

Philip Faircloth-Mutton, the council's Cabinet Member for Environment, Communities, and Equality, said the aim of the fund offering smaller grants of £50,000, £15,000, and £1,500 was to create "happier, healthier, and stronger communities".

The council has previously said it was able to reverse its decision to end cultural funding after the last government unveiled an emergency £600m funding package to help local authorities with rising social care costs.