Funding boost to continue City of Culture legacy

Hundreds of community groups could benefit from a share of £2.5m of funding announced to help continue the legacy of Bradford's UK City of Culture year.

Arts Council England has awarded the district £1.5m, with a further £1m coming from the National Lottery's Heritage and Community Funds.

The fresh cash injection adds to £1m announced last month to help keep the Loading Bay venue as a permanent space as well as investing in Saltaire's Peace Museum.

Phil Chamberlain, England Director at the National Lottery Community Fund, said the money would ensure the impact of City of Culture "will be felt well beyond 2025, ensuring a cultural and creative legacy with communities at its heart."

It is hoped the new funding will support a variety of family friendly cultural events throughout the summer across the district, as well as the return of the city-centre outdoor arts event BD: Festival, and pop-up community venue The Beacon.

And it is hoped the investment will attract more national and international artists to produce and present work in the city.

Bradford creatives will be commissioned to develop new projects and, through the continuation of the Our Patch programme, community organisations throughout the district will have improved access to heritage and culture.

Bradford 2025 was a year-long celebration of culture across the Bradford district.

Early estimates from organisers suggest more than 3m people attended more than 5,000 events, with audiences coming from across the district, the UK and around the world.

In December last year Bradford Council, which championed the bid, announced a key part of its legacy plan for Bradford 2025 would be ongoing support for Bradford Culture Company, the company set up to run the year, enabling it to continue producing events and bidding for funding.

Dan Bates, executive director of Bradford Culture Company, said: "It's excellent news that the organisations who enabled us to deliver a fantastic UK City of Culture programme for our district are demonstrating a real long-term commitment to Bradford.

"Through this investment we can build on the momentum and impact of last year to create more opportunities for people in the district and further shape its future."

Community groups and artists have welcomed the funding boost.

Among them is Baildon Civic Society, which won funding from Bradford 2025's Our Patch programme to help put on a huge Yorkshire Day celebration in the village, including a "Yorkshire Puddings With A Twist" food heritage event as well as to bring back to life the story of Job Senior, the so-called singing hermit of Baildon Moor, through a special concert.

Society chair Geoffrey Shaw Champion said the events were "a great success", highlighting how the programme helped bring communities together through shared experiences.

Of the extra funding announcement, he said "it can only be positive", as the end of the main culture year had left many producers and artists uncertain about the future.

"You think, crikey, what happens at the end? Do we fall off a cliff?" he said.

"So it's really encouraging that we can continue to do the things that we've done for the community."

He added the investment would help groups like his to "keep heritage alive" as so many communities and spaces "have got a story to tell".

Pete Massey, Yorkshire and the Humber director at Arts Council England, said it was "delighted" to invest £1.5m of National Lottery Project Grant funding in the new Place Partnership project which "will secure the legacy of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture".

"2025 was an incredible year for Bradford," he said. "The UK City of Culture programme gave the district of Bradford the opportunity to showcase their rich cultural offer to the world.

"I look forward to seeing how this funding will support communities from across Bradford to continue to build creative careers in the place they call home and to keep telling their stories through arts and culture."

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