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Capital museum projects face uncertainty as government mulls £100m cut
Funding for National Museums Liverpool, National Railway Museum and V&A Dundee could be withdrawn
Museum stakeholders say they will push for continued investment after the UK Government said it was “minded to withdraw” more than £100m of Levelling Up funding, including grants for six cultural regeneration projects.
As part of last week’s budget, the chancellor Rachel Reeves indicated that she would scrap the previous government's unfunded spending commitments, including the Levelling Up Culture and Capital Regeneration Projects announced in the 2024 spring budget.
A statement from the government said: “Given the need to make savings, the government has announced that it is minded to withdraw funding from the Levelling Up Culture Projects and Capital Regeneration Projects announced by the government at Spring Budget 2024, but will consult these places before making final decisions.”
The Levelling Up grants were intended to support “projects that have significant potential to develop the creative and cultural sector or part of the creative cultural sector”.
The funding comprises £15m for the National Railway Museum in York towards its £95m masterplan; £10m for National Museums Liverpool’s waterfront transformation project; £2.6m for the V&A Dundee in Scotland; £5m for the National Poetry Centre and £10m for British Library North, both of which are under development in Leeds; and £10m for Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Wales.
A consultation with the impacted projects will now take place as stakeholders say they will make the case for continued investment.
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A spokesperson for National Museums Liverpool said the institution would consult “with colleagues in government, ensuring the local, national and international significance of this project is understood”.
The statement added: “National Museums Liverpool remains committed to this important and deeply impactful project, which has been years in development and has grown with the collaboration and guidance of many, including our community stakeholders.”
Steve Rotheram, mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “While the budget announcement on the future of this funding might seem concerning on the face of it, we are aware that there will be a proper consultation, where we can make the case to government that it is an important investment, both for the region and the wider UK economy.”
A spokesperson for the Science Museum Group, which operates the National Railway Museum, said in a statement: “The government is consulting with a number of public bodies that were the recipients of the Levelling Up Culture and Capital Projects funds.
“We recognise the difficult settlement faced by all departments. We are working constructively with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and our sponsor, [the] Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to outline the enormous value of this investment in boosting the local economy and creating new jobs as part of one of the largest brownfield regeneration projects in the UK, York Central.”
A V&A Dundee spokesperson said: “This decision comes as the new UK government is making significant savings. A consultation period with all impacted projects will now take place and we remain committed to transforming these galleries in the future.”