Coventry City of Culture: Urgent meeting called on trust finances

Coventry City Council confirmed that the £1m loan had not been repaid in full

An emergency meeting has been called by councillors in Coventry over concerns about funding for the body responsible for City of Culture projects.

Coventry was named the 2021 UK City of Culture, attracting millions of pounds in investment to the city.

However, the body responsible Coventry City of Culture Trust recently turned to administrators, saying it faced financial difficulty.

Councillors are expected to discuss the issue in the coming weeks.

The trust has previously received a £1m loan from the city council in 2022, which has not been fully repaid, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Despite being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, events put on as part of the City of Culture year reached more than one million people either in-person or online, the trust said.

When it came to an end in May 2022, it pledged more than £5m in creative and cultural projects over the next two years.

However, accounts in March 2022 showed it had a funding shortfall of about £1.5m, with £20.6m of expenditure and £19.1m of income, as well as a total wage bill of just under £3.8m.

Coventry City of Culture Trust said the title had brought in more than £172m of investment to the city

On Wednesday, Labour councillor Ed Ruane asked for an emergency meeting and requested the trust's chief executive and finance manager to attend.

'Badly let down'

Following an investigation by BBC CWR revealing financial problems in early February, the trust's legacy was defended by the council.

Mr Ruane said he had felt "badly let down" and wanted to ensure public money the trust received was secure.

"I shouldn't find out through the media that the city of culture which we proudly financed is in financial trouble," he said.

His suggestion of a meeting was met with widespread support, with meeting chair Catherine Miks adding that there would be some "answers".

Conservative councillor Tim Sawdon had also reminded attendees about the agreement to loan the trust £1m in September.

"It is even more important that we follow up on what Ed is suggesting and get to the bottom of this pretty quickly," he said.

A spokesperson for Coventry City of Culture Trust's board of trustees said that it continued to seek accountancy and legal advice while looking for a solution by March.

It said it would continue to work with partners, staff and creditors in efforts to protect the future of the its three-year legacy programme.