Eleven bids for Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund

Eleven towns and cities from across Northern England have bid for a share of a new £15 million fund to help build a lasting regional legacy from the Great Exhibition of the North.

The Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund will make grants of up to £4 million available to support major culture and tech capital projects.

The bids include the redevelopment of a former cinema into a live music venue, building four giant brick towers and creating the world’s biggest digital artwork.

The first round of bids have been coordinated by Local Enterprise Partnerships in Cheshire and Warrington, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Humber, Lancashire, Leeds City Region, Liverpool City Region, North East, Sheffield City Region, Tees Valley, York and North Yorkshire and East Riding.

The fund will boost the Northern Powerhouse and build on the impact of next year’s Great Exhibition in the North. The exhibition, to be held in Newcastle and Gateshead next summer, is supported by £5 million of government funding and will engage communities and businesses from across the region, and promote the thriving Northern area to the world.

Successful bids to the Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund will encourage sustainable culture and creative regeneration in the North of England and benefit areas that have historically had low levels of cultural and creative investment. The successful projects will be announced in March 2018.

Karen Bradley, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said: “These hugely exciting bids demonstrate the scale of cultural ambition across the region, and reflect the great diversity of Northern towns and cities. This £15 million fund will mean that as many people as possible benefit from the Great Exhibition of the North and it is fantastic that so many communities have recognised the transformative potential of culture, design and innovation.”