Councils click into the future of planning
In town halls across the country, planning officers are racing to update their Local Plans — but this time, the process looks very different.
£270m boost for museums and galleries branded ‘sticking plaster’
21/02/2025 The announcement of £270m for museums and galleries is welcome but still just a ‘sticking plaster’ to cover a lack of funding, council chiefs say. |
Bone from Swindon Stegosaur returns to local museum
29/01/2025 A bone believed to be part of the first stegosaur to be named by scientists is returning to Swindon, where it was unearthed more than 150 years ago. |
Bristol proposes shutting museums amid £51m budget gap
10/01/2025 Bristol City Council has proposed permanently closing three museums in its bid to tackle a £51.6m budget gap for the next financial year. |
Missing Henry VIII portrait spotted in county hall
26/07/2024 Art historians believe a missing portrait of Henry VIII is owned by Warwickshire County Council after it was spotted in a photo on social media. |
Council secures Mr Darcy’s iconic ‘wet shirt’
23/05/2024 Calderdale Council has successfully secured Mr Darcy’s iconic ‘wet shirt’ from the BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. |
Museums and libraries receive £33m cash injection
26/03/2024 Nearly 70 museums and libraries across England are to receive £33m in the latest round of the Government's Cultural Investment Fund. |
Two-thirds of councils to cut neighbourhood services
27/02/2024 Community services will have to be ‘drastically scaled back’ or cut altogether without further funding for councils, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned. |
Controversial Colston statue to move to museum
13/02/2024 The controversial Bristol statue of transatlantic slave trader Edward Colston, which was torn down by protestors in 2020, is set to be moved to a museum. |
Culture spend down by £500m
01/02/2024 Analysis has uncovered an almost £500m reduction in councils’ spending on libraries, culture, heritage and tourism since the onset of austerity. |
Dorset awards half a million to local culture
12/01/2024 Cultural services across Dorset are set to benefit from £486,000 over the next three years. |
Historic artefacts transferred to county council
15/12/2023 Ownership of historic artefacts found outside of Lincoln is set to be transferred from the city council to Lincolnshire County Council. |
Museums and the cost-of-culture crisis
11/10/2023 India Divers, policy and campaigns officer, Museums Association looks at the impact on museums of the financial squeeze faced by most local authorities. |
Where’s Wally? Stolen statue spotted and returned to council
29/09/2023 A piece of art stolen in a heist 16 years ago has been returned to Ealing Council. |
Mayor urged to support smaller museums
27/04/2023 Mayor Sadiq Khan should make ‘more permanent, affordable premises’ available for London’s quirkier cultural organisations, London assembly members say. |
Over 70 cultural venues set for £60m investment
20/03/2023 More than 70 libraries, museums and arts centres are to be given a £60m boost, culture secretary Lucy Frazer has announced. |
Derby museums warn of ‘devastating’ cuts
09/01/2023 Museums in Derby have warned that planned cuts by the city council could have a ‘devastating effect’ on their services. |
Local arts funding faces £2.4bn gap
08/12/2022 A multi-year funding settlement is essential for helping local authorities support the arts, council chiefs say as report reveals a £2.4bn culture funding gap. |
Cultural institutions face ‘existential threat’, MPs warn
02/11/2022 Theatres, museums and leisure centres in historically left behind areas are facing an ‘existential threat’ from the cost-of-living crisis, MPs warn. |
Councils encouraged to apply for share of £128m culture fund
10/05/2022 Cultural venues including museums, galleries and public libraries are being encouraged to submit expressions of interest to receive a share of £128m. |
Museums and galleries to receive £48m boost
14/03/2022 Cultural venues across the country are set to receive £48m of funding to help improve access to the arts, the Government has announced. |
Council spending on museums falls by more than a quarter in past decade
27/10/2021 Local authority spending on museums and galleries has fallen by 27% in the past decade, new analysis has found. |
Protecting art in a crisis
27/07/2020 Tiffany Cloynes and Clare Hardy outline how local authorities can play an important part in enabling arts and culture to flourish in their areas. |
|
Council celebrates ‘landmark’ ruling that will save museums thousands
18/06/2020 Exeter CC has welcomed a landmark ruling over the rateable valuation of a Grade II building in a court decision that could save museums thousands of pounds. |
|
Art charity announces £2m to support museums and galleries
17/06/2020 Museums and art galleries are to receive a much needed funding boost to help them weather the impact of Covid-19. |
|
Court finds in favour of museum in ‘landmark’ business rates case
17/01/2020 A long-running battle over how museums are valued for business rates has come to an end with a court ruling that they should be valued based on net income. |
|
Whitehall announces £250m of culture spending
14/10/2019 The Government has announced £250m of funding for cultural projects, libraries, museums and the creative industries after a decade of cuts. |
|
Council finds 500-year-old stolen clock
28/08/2019 West Suffolk Council has located an antique clock after it was stolen during a break in nearly six decades ago. |
|
Combined authority asked to approve £6.6m museum grant
26/07/2019 A national children’s museum is set to get a boost after the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority is asked to approve a grant for up to £6.6m. |
|
Blackpool museum allocated £4m in lottery funding
24/06/2019 A museum celebrating Blackpool’s role in the development of British culture has been allocated £4m in lottery funding. |
|
Council spending on cultural services slashed by £400m
28/01/2019 Council spending on cultural resources such as museums, libraries, and the arts has been reduced by almost £400m over the last eight years of austerity, new research has revealed. |
|
Five areas to share £20m cultural development fund
18/01/2019 The five areas to receive £20m of funding to invest in culture have been unveiled by the Government. |
|
Council ‘disposed’ of ancient Roman artefact
07/09/2018 Colchester Borough Council disposed of a Roman water feature after it proved ‘too expensive' to maintain. |
|
Whitehall should ‘ease restrictions’ on sale of museum items, law firm says
27/03/2018 The Government should ease restrictions preventing local authority museums from selling items in their possession, law firm says. |
|
Action plan published for the future of museums
14/11/2017 Museums should contribute to the priorities of their local area and diversify their audiences, according to a review of the sector. |
|
Online hub created for councils to share innovative ways to invest in culture
17/08/2017 Financially-squeezed councils can now access a specialised online hub designed to help them share innovative ways to invest in culture. |
|
£500,000 cuts threaten Birmingham museums
12/01/2017 Proposed council funding cuts could ‘significantly impact’ Birmingham’s position as a leading city for arts and culture, trust warns. |
|
Arts and culture funding to be shifted away from the capital
05/10/2016 Funding for arts and culture outside of London will be increased by 4% by 2022, Arts Council England has announced. |
|
New programme will give 600 youths access to the arts, Whitehall claims
10/08/2016 A new programme promoting cultural engagement within disadvantaged communities will provide 600 young people increased access to the arts, the Government claims. |
|
Museums receive over £12m amid cuts in arts funding
03/08/2016 Museums across the country are to receive millions in funding to transform them into ‘sustainable and resilient businesses’, at a time when investment in the arts is decreasing. |
|
Bradford museum defends decision to move exhibition to London
30/03/2016 A Bradford museum has defended its decision to move a valuable photography exhibition to London, despite local opposition. |
|
Council-run museums under threat from cuts
13/01/2016 Cuts to public funding are hitting all museums, but those run by local authorities are the worst off, according to survey. |
|
Pressure group launches art attack on councils
04/09/2015 UK councils own at least 5.5m works of art worth an estimated £2bn but are displaying just a fraction of pieces, new research has found. |
|
Council to pay compensation over Nazi-looted artwork
14/08/2015 A Scottish council is to pay compensation to a German Jewish woman’s family after it emerged Nazi-looted artwork was in a local museum. |
|
Export ban on ancient Egyptian statue auctioned off by council
31/03/2015 A 4,000-year-old statue controversially auctioned off by a council for almost £16m has been stopped from leaving the UK for up to a year. |
|
Magna Carta original uncovered in council’s archive
09/02/2015 An original edition of the Magna Carta potentially worth up to £10m has been found in a Kent council’s archives. |
|
Winners of Solent Design Awards announced
25/11/2014 The Mary Rose Museum (pictured) has been chosen as the People’s Choice for 2014 in this year’s Solent Design Awards. |
|
Council barred from Museums Association
02/10/2014 Northampton has been banned from the Museums Association (MA) for at least five years following the sale of an Egyptian statue. |
|
Lib Dems in free museum vow
18/08/2014 The Liberal Democrats will pledge to protect free access to museums and galleries in their 2015 General Election manifesto. |
|
Northampton museums lose accreditation after council’s Egyptian statue sale
01/08/2014 Two museums run by Northampton Borough Council have lost their accreditation status following a controversial decision to auction off an ancient Egyptian statue. |
|
Northampton BC under-fire after selling Egyptian statue for £16m
11/07/2014 Northampton Borough Council has been heavily criticised for selling an ancient Egyptian statue to fund local museum improvements. |
