THE culture scene in St Helens has received a major funding boost.

The borough’s library service and local arts organisation, Heart of Glass, secured more than £1.7 million in national funding to continue carrying out their multi award-winning community projects over the next three-years.

As part of their National Portfolio Organisations (NPO) status – awarded by Arts Council England (ACE) in 2018 – the library service and Heart of Glass were among 990 organisations to receive a share of a £446 million investment to support ACE’s ambitious ‘Let’s Create’ strategy to bring art, culture and creativity to more people, in more places, across the country.

St Helens is the only borough outside of the Liverpool in the City Region to have two NPOs, which has been described as being "clear evidence of the strength of the cultural sector" in the borough.

Borough of Culture

The timely announcement comes as St Helens takes on the role of the Liverpool City Region’s borough of culture for 2023, with a programme of events planned in the new year – the theme for which will be around celebrating St Helens’ past and building for the future.

Speaking at the borough of culture handover event in Knowsley, St Helens Council leader Cllr David Baines publicly acknowledged the achievements of both the Heart of Glass and the Council’s library service.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate and personally recognise those who have worked so hard to develop and submit these funding bids,” he said.

“We are keen to secure further support to develop the pool of cultural talent we have within the borough and to use culture as one of the key drivers for our wider regeneration programmes, including exciting plans for the iconic Gamble Building, Earlestown town hall, Cannington Shaw and the World of Glass.”

Cllr Anthony Burns, the council’s cabinet member for wellbeing, culture and heritage, also shared his views.

He added: “For two local organisations, including our council-run St Helens library service, to come away with a significant amount of funding from what was a highly-competitive process speaks volumes of the faith Arts Council England has in the work being undertaken in the borough to grow the cultural sector here and is most welcome during these challenging times.”