3 August 2020
£30m to Reignite England’s Independent Cinemas After COVID-19 Shutdown
Independent commercial and non-profit cinemas in England whose businesses have been interrupted by COVID-19 can access funding to reopen and make safety interventions.
The Culture Recovery Fund for Independent Cinemas is supporting England’s cinema businesses to put safety measures in place, protecting employees and audiences following the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
The scheme is designed to help venues that are facing prohibitive challenges in being able to reopen and operate while social distancing is in place, restricting admissions for performances and takings. It is intended to help those businesses that have been heavily impacted following a UK-wide closure since the end of March.
The programme has an overall budget of £30 million. Support is provided via two strands, addressing the high upfront health and safety costs facing venues and the challenges of financial viability in the early months of reopening. Cinemas are able to apply for grants from both strands, which will be structured as follows:
- £3 million for safety grants to enable cinemas (up to £10,000 per cinema) to put the necessary measures in place to ensure the safety of their workforce and the public.
- £27 million for business sustainability grants (up to £200,000 per organisation) to support cinemas to operate viably under the restricted conditions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The scheme is open to award both non-profit and independent commercial cinemas in England, including mixed artform venues. Funding will be directed at building-based venues that provide a year-round film programme.
Applications will be accepted from Monday 10 August 2020 until Friday 30 October 2020.