Sheffield ‘starved’ of arts funding

Sheffield receives less arts funding than Manchester despite having a larger population.

Analysis by The Star found that Manchester and Leeds get four times as much from Arts Council England.

Organisations in Sheffield have received £37.8m in grants since 2017/18 – the equivalent of £64.77 per person.

Leeds received the equivalent of £166.94 per person over the same period, while Manchester got £274.78 per head of population.

City Council Deputy Leader Julie Grocutt said Sheffield "punches above its weight" culturally.

The Sheffield Culture Collective launched its first strategy for regional growth in June.

"We are keen to strengthen relationships with major funders to redress the geographical imbalance in funding… and are working with partners in the Culture Collective to do just that," Grocutt said.

"We now need to make a determined effort together to bring in greater investment in to Sheffield and tackle this unfairness."