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Salford City Council - Record of Decision (Cabinet)
I
Paul Dennett, City Mayor, in exercise of the powers contained
within the City Council Constitution do hereby:

1.   
Note that The Lowry has been invited to make a full application for
£8.5m to the Arts Council England Creative Foundations Fund,
provided they meet the £1.5m match partnership funding
requirement.
2.   
Note the request to allocate £1.5 million from earmarked
reserves as match partnership funding to enable The Lowry to submit
a full application to the Arts Council England Creative Foundations
Fund.
3.   
Support The Lowry’s bid for £8.5 million from the
Creative Foundations Fund to meet the mandatory partnership funding
requirement and improve the application's chances of success
4.   
Endorse investment in Lowry’s infrastructure to prevent
closure through critical upgrades to the building and equipment,
ensuring its continued operation, sustainability, and adaptability
for all its communities and evolving audience and visitor
needs.
5.   
Recommend to full council that a commitment of £1.5m match
funding - conditional on Lowry being successful in their
application for £8.5 million of Creative Foundations Funding
- is confirmed to enable Lowry to submit a full application to Arts
Council England before 31st October 2025. 
The Reasons are:
·        
The Lowry aligns with Salford's strategic priorities in health,
place-making, and economic opportunity.
·        
This conditional support will enable The Lowry to apply for
£8.5m toward a total £10m capital programme.
·        
The proposed programme addresses critical infrastructure
requirements, ensuring the Lowry can continue to operate, be more
sustainable and meet the needs of all its communities.
Options considered and rejected were:

Not to provide
match funding and support the Lowry, significantly reducing the
likelihood of securing £8.5m Arts Council England funds and
loss of health, place-making, and economic benefits arising from
the project.
Assessment of Risk: Low
The source of funding is: Earmarked reserves
Legal Advice obtained: Kathryn Saldanha, Shared Legal Service
Commercial Team

Salford City Council’s has carried out the required
initial “Is it a Subsidy?” assessment of the proposed
award of £1.5 million of Council grant funding to The Lowry
and has determined that this Council grant to The Lowry will
qualify as a “Salford City Council Subsidy” for the
purpose of the Subsidy Control Act 2022.  The Council has therefore carried out a the
further required Assessment of this proposed Council Subsidy
against the 7 Subsidy Control Principles and has determined that
this proposed Council Subsidy, which is to be used to fund
essential infrastructure works (including access and safety-related
infrastructure works) to The Lowry’s cultural complex
complies with all the 7 Subsidy Control Principles and will be a
“lawful” Council Subsidy under the Subsidy Control
Act.
 
The
Council has the general power of competence under section 1 of the
Localism Act 2011 which provides a legal basis for the Council to
make awards of grant funding.
 
The
Council is being asked to agree to commit to making this award of
£1.5 million of Council grant funding to The Lowry as
“match funding” which would be drawn down should The
Lowry’s bid for £8.5 million of Arts Council Creative
Foundations Fund grant monies be successful. 
 
The Council will enter into a
formal grant funding agreement with The Lowry which will contain
standard provisions in respect of The Lowry’s obligations to
use the Council grant for the agreed grant purpose.
Financial Advice obtained: David R Mills, Strategic Head of
Finance

The paper requests approval for Salford City
Council to allocate £1.5 million from earmarked reserves as
match partnership funding to support The Lowry’s £8.5
million bid to the Arts Council England’s Creative
Foundations Fund (CFF). This funding is intended to address
critical infrastructure needs at The Lowry, a 25-year-old cultural
venue, ensuring its continued operation, sustainability, and
adaptability for artistic communities and evolving audience
demands. Financially, the Council’s contribution satisfies
the CFF’s requirement for at least 15% partnership funding
for bids over £1 million, thereby significantly strengthening
the application’s chances of success. The financial
implications include a direct draw from earmarked reserves, but the
investment aligns with strategic objectives around community
wellbeing, place-making, and economic growth. The assessed
financial risk is low, and the investment is expected to yield
long-term cultural, social, and economic benefits for Salford.
 
As set out in Section C – Budget and
Policy Framework Procedure Rules (page 184 of the Constitution),
any use of reserves above £1m in aggregate in a financial
year requires the approval of full Council. The proposed allocation
of £1.5m from reserves is not within the existing approved
budget and exceeds the City Mayor’s delegated authority for
use of reserves. Therefore, in accordance with Article 4.2(b) and
(c), and the Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules, this
decision must be referred to Full Council for approval
Procurement Advice obtained:
Anthony Hilton, Strategic Head of
Procurement
There are no procurement
implications within the detail of this report.
 
HR Advice obtained: Daniella McKeown – Strategic HR&OD
Manager
As this is funding related there are no HR implications to
note.
Climate Change Advice obtained:
Hayley Nixon, Commercial Project
Manager
 
The Salford
Corporate Plan identifies ‘responding to climate Change’ as a
key priority for the city. This followed the City Council declaring
a Climate Emergency in July 2019, agreeing to set a challenging
target date of 2038 for carbon neutrality in Salford and to
consider the climate change impact of each area of the
Council’s activities.
 
This project
includes replacing outdated boilers and chillers, reducing
maintenance and energy costs and reducing CO?
by 142 tonnes annually. Although this will not decarbonise the
heating at the site, the reduction in carbon emissions as a result
is positive. In addition, in the design and installation of the new
heating system the project should take into account the potential
for an expanded Heat Network to be developed in the area and the
requirement to connect this in the lifetime of new boilers on the
basis of imminent legislation (The Energy Act 2023).
The
following documents have been used to assist the decision
process:
·        
Suprema Lex – The Shared Strategy for Creativity, Culture and
Place
·        
Salford Cultural Education Partnership - Play is Powerful
·        
Salford City Council Corporate Plan
Contact Officer:  Darren Grice, Director of
Culture                
Telephone number:  07966
532505

The appropriate scrutiny to
call-in the decision is the Communities and
Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Panel                     

 
Signed:
              Paul
Dennett  _  Dated:               09.09.25                                       
                  
                    
    City Mayor
 

For Democratic Services use only

This decision was
published on 09.09.25                                            

This decision will
come in force at 4.00 p.m. 16.09.25 unless it is called-in in accordance with
the Decision Making Process Rules.