Southampton gets £1.5m as City of Culture legacy

A total of £1.57m is set to be injected into the city to boost tourism and rejuvenate parts of Southampton.

City bosses have confirmed that the money, from Arts Council England (ACE), will see investments made for tourism as well as plans for cultural regeneration.

READ MORE: City's bid to become leading cultural centre boosted by £1.5m grant

Claire Whitaker, chief executive of the Southampton Culture Trust: "We're really looking at the culture of Southampton.

"[The money] means we will have a voice for tourism in the city to drive our cultural and visitor economy. 

"We're going to be able to [improve] the cultural sector, we're going to be master-planning some areas for cultural regeneration, and also deliver some of the projects on a different scale and pace."

Darren Henley, chief executive officer of Arts Council England (ACE), said it was great to "see the possibility of the future".

Darren Henley, chief executive officer of Arts Council England. (Image: Daily Echo, Emily Liddell)

He added: "It's great to be [in Southampton], I always think when I come it's one of those amazing, plaintive places, it's got so much going for it.

"It must be an amazing place to live, to work, to study, to grow up.

"It's fantastic to see all those people who came together from the arts world, the business world, a great local authority backing arts and culture, as well as the two universities here doing the same thing.

"It's a real hotbed of activity, I'm jealous of everyone who lives here."

The funding comes after ACE announced it would give Southampton an extra £11.5m over the next three years to support its culture and creativity sector last year.

Cllr Satvir Kaur, leader of the city council, said the funding is "absolutely fantastic".

She added: "We were always saying throughout UK City of Culture that win or lose, it would put Southampton on the map.

"It's really needed, it's fantastic to get this external investment so we can focus on key areas like building our tourism."

READ NEXT: Southampton awarded £20m from Levelling Up fund

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