REDDITCH has been awarded a £5million funding boost to help support arts and culture in the town.
The cash comes from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund and was allocated in this weeks budget.
The funding injection will support several cultural projects in Redditch and consultation with a stakeholders will now take place.
This will help Redditch Borough Council formulate an investment plan for the town.
Redditch MP Rachel Maclean has been campaigning for increased investment from the Chancellor, championing the Palace Theatre, community arts and crafts, pop-up galleries and museums.
She said: ”This is fantastic news for Redditch.
“Arts and culture are embedded into the fabric of Redditch, celebrating the town’s rich industrial heritage.
“The announcement of £5million will allow creativity to flourish in the town, boost the economy and demonstrates that levelling up really does benefit all parts of the country.
“We have the thriving Palace Theatre that could benefit from increased capacity, and improvements to the Forge Mill Museum would allow for a wide variety of uses – this multi million-pound investment really will be transformational.”
The chancellor has also announced a reduction in National Insurance payments, a rise in the child benefit threshold to £60,000 and increasing the level of when the self-employed start to pay VAT to £90,000.
Redditch Borough Council leader, Coun Matt Dormer, said: “For Redditch, the news of an extra £5million being ringfenced from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund to boost our leisure and culture scene is huge.
“It’s another momentous game-changer for our town.
“With £15million of Town Deal funding already secured for projects like the digital, manufacturing and Innovation Centre, a buzzing town centre plaza and public realm works around Church Green West and Unicorn Hill.
“Redditch’s future is looking bright, and this additional £5m funding means it doesn’t have to stop there.”
Redditch Labour Group have criticised the budget, saying it is ‘nothing more than a sticking plaster’.
Coun Sharon Harvey, deputy leader said: “They have ignored the real issues the community faces and instead resorted to cheap stunts and self congratulation.
“Any tax cut gimmicks will be swept away by the massive bills their ineptitude has caused.
“Mortgages up, inflation up, NHS waiting lists up the cost of an education spiralling – the only thing falling is the standards of the nation’s teeth.”
