Bolton received the second-highest Arts Council funding of any Greater Manchester borough last year. Figures from Arts Council England show that of the £38,751,562 of funding Greater Manchester received, Bolton received £4.5million.
There were a total of eight successful applications for funding in Bolton, five of which were made by individuals representing smaller arts ventures. Out of that, £3.8million went to Bolton Music Service, which work in the town and Blackburn to increase access to music making and provide pathways for children through music tuition.
The Octagon Theatre Trust received £625,359 while the council was given £29,350. A spokesperson for the Octagon Theatre said: “Investment from Arts Council England is about a fifth of our income and is critical to our work. "It underpins our projects with young people and communities, helps provide accessible tickets for more people, and enables us to create critically acclaimed new work.
“Without their support, we’d have to significantly cut back on what we offer Bolton audiences. "We’d encourage more groups and artists to apply to the Arts Council.” The theatre also pointed out that the Arts Council website shows that per head, Manchester receives much more funding than the borough gets and they “hope that will change in the coming years so that even more people in Bolton can take part in arts and culture".
Manchester received more than £25m in total with most of the funding going towards large venue.
