Purpose

To consider options for
submitting an expression of interest application to the National
Lottery Reaching Communities and Partnerships fund for
£400,000 over a five-year period. The focus of the project is
to continue to deliver and scale up the existing Arts and Heritage
project currently funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund
(UKSPF).

Decision

The Council submits
the expression of interest to the National Lottery Fund to explore
external funding to continue and expand the work of the Arts and
Heritage Project. This will enable the Council to expand existing
activities and have assurances that the project can be sustained
over a longer period of time (5
years).
 
The Arts and
Heritage Project is identified as a priority project to continue
through the UKSPF one-year interim period should the funding
application to the National Lottery not be successful to extend the
project for a 12-month period while other external funding options
are explored.