Salford's Lowry theatre energy costs set to triple to £1m

The centre was opened by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in 2000

It could cost almost £1m to keep Salford's Lowry theatre going through the winter because of tripling energy costs, the chief executive has said.

Julia Fawcett said the costs were "substantially" more than its £860,000 annual Arts Council grant.

She said the theatre was working actively to renegotiate contracts and suppliers.

The Lowry's business model is "flexible and built for resilience", she told the the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

She said: "Compared to the previous year we're projecting that The Lowry's electricity bill for the year 2022/23 will have increased threefold.

She added The Lowry operates a "successful, largely self-sufficient model", highly reliant on earned and contributed income.

It also received 6.3% total funding from the Arts Council England, Salford City Council and Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

Ms Fawcett added that the venue was also supported by public funding.

The centre was opened by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in 2000 and houses the world's largest collection of paintings by LS Lowry, Salford's most famous son.