A £30m events centre set for Merseyside has missed out on extra funding from Arts Council England.
Marine Lake Events Centre is set to be built in Southport following the news that the town would receive almost £40m from the government as part of the Town Deal.
The events centre, however, has missed out on another portion of funding due to the work being completed past the deadline for the funding to be allocated - despite the work forecasted to be "90%" completed.
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In a report to Sefton Council Cabinet, it said: “After engaging with Arts Council England as part of the Southport Town Deal submission it was agreed by Cabinet on 29th July to submit a funding bid in relation to the Marine Lake Events Centre for the ACE Cultural Renewal Fund.
“After conversations with Arts Council England it was recommended to submit a £3.5m bid, the maximum bid allowed was £5m with a total grant pot of circa £18m for England.
“After submitting an Expression of Interest it was recommended that a full bid was not progressed, this was due to the volume of EOIs and also in the view of the review panel other projects met the programme’s objectives more so than Marine Lake Events Centre.
“However, the panel’s recommendation was advisory, and any full application would be a ministerial decision. A full application was then submitted.
“Notification has been received from Arts Council England that the Marine Lake Events Centre application has been unsuccessful, the reason being is that the Marine Lake Events Centre project is due to finish after the March 2025 programme deadline for spend.
“It should be noted over 90% of the project would be complete and assurances were given that the Arts Council England contribution would have been drawn down.
“Arts Council England have informed us conversations did take place with DCMS but no flexibility was awarded to the application. Further detailed feedback has been requested, but ACE has advised that this is not available.
“This outcome reinforces the increasingly competitive environment in which the council may be required to pursue capital funding for future project development and delivery.”
The Marine Lake Events Centre is set to be a 1,200 seater events space that will host a variety of events, and will also feature a promenade onto Marine Lake.
The events space will take over previous responsibilities that the Southport Theatre and Convention Centre once held before shutting down following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sefton Council believes that it will be a major boost to Southport’s economy, reportedly set to attract more than 300,000 new visitors to Southport every year, including more than 100,000 from outside the Liverpool City Region.
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