Salford City Council approves £1.5million of support for Lowry’s bid
Salford City Council has approved £1.5million of support for Lowry, should it be successful in its Creative Foundations Support bid.
The decision was made at the Full Council meeting on Wednesday 17 September where councillors chose to assign £1.5 million from allocated reserves.
The funding support will only be released if Lowry’s application for £8.5 million from the Creative Foundations Fund is successful.
The fund was launched by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and is administered by Arts Council England.
Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett said: “Lowry is not just a building, it’s a cornerstone of Salford’s cultural identity. For 25 years, it has inspired creativity, brought communities together, and welcomed millions of visitors to our city.
“Much of the building infrastructure has reached the end of its lifecycle and is in need of financial investment. So, we are extremely hopeful of a successful application to the Creative Foundations Fund. Lowry has the full support of Salford City Council.”
Lowry has been working on a project entitled ‘Safeguarding the Future of Lowry’ which aims to raise £10 million in capital.
The City Mayor added: “Lowry has helped to shape the cultural heritage in Salford during this time – impacting far beyond the actual venue of Lowry.
“Quays Culture and the annual Lightwaves festival, which was created by Lowry, welcomes over 400,000 people each year to the area. We Invented the Weekend, created jointly with Lowry, welcomes 90,000 people over just two days.
“The actual impact Lowry has had in the city and beyond is incredible. More than 20 million people have visited Salford Quays in the past 25 years. Visitors spend £86.6million each year.”
- If successful, the money will be spent on works including:
Improved accessibility and visitor experience: Replacing two obsolete escalators, with modern passenger lifts, improving access for 300,000 visitors. - Increased environmental sustainability: Replacing outdated boilers and chillers, reducing disruption, maintenance and energy costs and reducing CO₂ by 142 tonnes annually.
- Safety and Compliance: Renewing fire alarms, smoke curtains, fire doors, sprinklers and smoke pressurisation systems.
- Strengthening Organisational Sustainability: Ensure Lowry can continue delivering charitable and community programmes.
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