Local Cultural Organisations Issue Open Letter Voicing Concern About Nottingham City Council’s Budget Cuts

Over 120 individuals representing at least 75 local organisations have signed an open letter voicing concern about Nottingham City Council’s Section 114 process, and the impact it will have on the Nottingham communities.

Prominent voices from the cultural sector, including LeftLion, have gotten behind the statement, sent to City Councillors. Other culture sector signatories include DHP Family, Nottingham Playhouse, Nottingham Contemporary, New Art Exchange, Nonsuch Studios, The Hustle Collective and Nottingham Poetry Festival.

Signatories also include notable organisations from the commercial, environment, health and wellbeing, education, sports, and community sectors, including Shop Zero, Nottingham Green Festival, The Pythian Club, Switch Up, ChalleNGe, Ignite!, Nottingham Counselling Services, as well as a large number of independent artists and students.

The letter calls for an extension and deepening of the consultation process to ensure that Nottingham citizens can contribute to an open debate around cuts and revenue generation. They argue that the current consultation process is inadequate and disadvantages those most impacted by potential budget cuts:

"We are calling for an extension and deepening of the consultation process, in order that Nottingham citizens can make an informed contribution to an open debate around cuts and revenue generation."

A major concern raised is that the proposed budget cuts disproportionately target frontline services, impacting the most vulnerable members of the community. The letter agues that this contradicts the vision outlined in the Nottingham City Council Strategic Plan 2023-27 for a “Safe, Clean, Green, Proud and Ambitious” city, stating: "Our greatest concern is that the suggested budget cuts focus disproportionately on frontline services that affect the most vulnerable in our society and will be detrimental to the City."

The letter criticises the timing of the public consultation. "The public consultation has fallen at a time when many working people were on leave. Engagement events, particularly those held in person, have been limited, and the reliance on digital consultation disadvantages the very same people who will be most significantly impacted by the budget cuts."

The letter includes two proposals for increased revenue generation for the City - bringing in a tourist tax or ‘transient visitor levy’ which it states is “a levy on the occupation of short-stay accommodation in a local authority area”.

The second proposal is to; “Make better use of Nottingham City’s huge property portfolio. Many properties are unused or under-used and could be sold to release funds… As a landlord, owning unused properties is also costly to the Council in the long run in administration, heating and security costs, and lost rent.”

The letter goes on to state that the City “should be calling for radical change to local government funding and expanded city boundaries, reflecting the value it adds to its wider geography, to provide a sustainable long term future for Nottingham.”

Approached for comment, co-signer Stephanie Sirr MBE, Chief Executive Nottingham Playhouse, Chair Nottingham Strategic Cultural Partnership, Nottingham Growth Board, Joint President at UK Theatre told LeftLion that:

"Spend per capita on culture in Nottingham is 34% that of Liverpool, 30% that of Leeds and an extremely modest 22% that of Manchester. It’s less than Leicester (30% of what they spend per capita) and it’s even less than Derby (58% of their spend) Leicester and Derby, which are not core cities and don’t have our expansive cultural offer. Once culture funding is cut, it tends to stay cut. The fountains can be switched back on, but we risk losing a lot in culture cuts."

City Council Leader David Mellen responded to the letter saying, "We have had more than 4000 responses to the budget consultation - the most we’ve ever had. We also have had 11 different consultation meetings, some online, some face to face, which have largely been well attended. The timetable of having to set a legal budget prevents the official consultation period being extended, although of course we will continue to listen to views informally."

LeftLion Partnerships Manager Adam Pickering, who convened the meetings which lead to the co-drafted open letter, said: "This coming together of well over 100 Nottingham citizens, representing more than 75 organisations across sectors, shows Nottingham in solidarity against cuts, the Section 114 process, and this high-handed approach to Local Government."

The letter ends by stating that “It is time to genuinely start ‘Working Together for Nottingham’, and fully engage with businesses, cultural and community organisations, and citizens in a fair and transparent manner. We understand that decisions made at this crucial point will have ramifications for the health, well-being, and success of our city way into the future, and local people demand a say. We stand together for Nottingham and against the erosion of our local democratic processes.”