Iconic cultural venues in Birmingham set to lose all their council funding

The authority, which is fighting to balance its books, revealed last year that grants to regularly funded art organisations would initially face cuts of 50 per cent and then 100 per cent in 2025/26.

The council’s proposed budget, published this week, confirms that the authority is planning to push ahead with these cuts as part of efforts to make around £150 million in savings in the next financial year.

The venues affected include City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), Birmingham REP Theatre, Birmingham Royal Ballet and IKON Gallery.

The council is also planning to cease all cultural project grants, which could impact events such as Birmingham Heritage Week and Black History Month.

The hammering of Birmingham’s cultural scene sparked dismay last year, with the CBSO saying in February 2024 that it was “devastated” at what the council cuts could mean for Birmingham.

“The CBSO has received funding from Birmingham City Council for the past 104 years and so we are saddened by the proposals,” it said at the time.

“The cut will of course have a lasting impact on the breadth and depth of work that we can deliver for the city.

“But nonetheless, we are determined to remain an essential part of Birmingham’s cultural landscape.”

Stephen Brown, from the Trades Union Congress (TUC), also accused the council of “dumping its own troubles” onto the cultural heartbeat of the city.

“What message does that send out to the rest of the country about Birmingham, let alone the world?” Mr Brown, of the Musicians’ Union, said last year.

“Once again, our sector is the easy target for cuts […] leaving the city’s world class organisations in financial peril.

“Do they not realise that people come to visit Birmingham because of these cultural icons? Do the council want to see a cultural wasteland here?”

There were even tears at a council meeting around the same time, when Labour councillor Liz Clements became emotional as she discussed the potential impact on Birmingham’s cultural scene.

“We’ve had a discussion over the past few months about what’s essential and what’s not essential and for me, arts aren’t a luxury – they are actually what makes life worth living in this city,” she said.

Becoming choked up, she then added: “They are a reason to keep going so I’m personally really devastated about that but I know we’ve got to get through and set the budget.”

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service this week, council leader John Cotton acknowledged the culture cuts were a “really difficult decision that we had to take”.

“That said, I think we’ve still got a very vibrant set of cultural organisations in this city,” he said.

“One of the things that has grown out of the challenges that we faced in terms of our ability to finance culture directly, is the conversations we’ve been able to broker across the sector.

“There’s been various initiatives coming forward about how we sustain cultural activity in the city and how we work with others to resource that.

“But culture is extremely important for the citizens of this city and we’re certainly going to do everything we can, as a partner with others, to ensure that remains the case.”

A report by external auditors recently highlighted several issues and missteps which contributed to the financial turmoil at the council, including the alleged equal pay liability, inadequate budget setting, poor service management, demand led pressures and the disastrous implementation of a new IT and finance system.

Several Labour councillors have also pointed to the impact of funding cuts over the past decade or so.

The proposed budget is set to be considered at a full council meeting later this month.