Burrell Collection to receive £3m windfall in Sunak's Budget

Our sister title The Herald can reveal the plans, which are expected to be announced this afternoon by the Chancellor, will see the historic collection awarded £1m a year for the next three years.

The announcement comes as The Herald is leading a campaign calling for a greater funding deal for the city’s cultural assets and attractions.

The first instalment of cash is due to be paid when the facility reopens to the public next year, after five years of closure.

A UK Government source told The Herald: “This funding builds on previous UK Government support for The Burrell.

“It recognises the Burrell’s place at the heart of cultural life in Scotland and its status as a collection of UK and International importance.

“Culture and tourism are also key economic drivers for the city of Glasgow, and this funding reflects the Burrell’s key role in that.”

The facility is due to reopen in five months’ time, after a £69m renovation, which is expected to create a whole new look to the A-listed building on the south side of Glasgow.

Around £5m of the restoration and renovation funding came from the UK Government, with the same amount coming from the Scottish Government.

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack

It is understood the Secretary of State for Scotland, Alister Jack, and his deputy Iain Stewart MP have been in talks with officials at Glasgow Life for some months as they struggle to recover from the coronavirus pandemic and reopen the city’s facilities.

They are believed to have lobbied the Treasury to secure the bespoke funding package, in recognition of the importance of the venue and the city in Scotland’s cultural landscape.

Glasgow Life, the arms’ length body of Glasgow City Council, runs the city’s libraries, sports facilities, museums and art galleries but lost £38m last year due to the pandemic.

Its predicted income for 2021/2022 is just £6.4m, with only 90 of its 171 venues currently reopened.

While Glasgow City Council has reached an agreement for it to receive a guaranteed £100m a year for the next three or four years, Glasgow Life will not be able to open the rest of its venues without more funding.

Aside from London, Glasgow has been one of the worst hit cities in the country in terms of culture and leisure activities closing down or struggling to reopen following the coronavirus pandemic.

The Herald campaign, A Fair Deal for Glasgow, is calling for a new funding deal for the city’s culture and leisure services.

We are calling on both the Scottish and UK governments to agree a new funding deal, with the latest £3m for the Burrell going some way towards delivering a fairer deal for the city. 

The award will be subject to the usual requirements from the Treasury, it is understood, with a business case being put forward in order to receive the £3m.

Further talks are due to take place in the coming weeks between the Treasury, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in the UK Government and Glasgow Life to discuss exactly how best the funds will be used.

The Queen opening the Burrell Collection

Due to specific restrictions around funding of new exhibits, it is thought the money could not be used to pay for brand new exhibitions, but it could be used elsewhere at the facility to free up funds to allow touring works, for example, to be displayed at the historic site. 

Although the venue bosses have managed to raise the £69m needed to pay for the wide-ranging renovation, it is believed that funds are now running low and the additional £3m will help to ensure the Burrell has a successful relaunch. 

The world-renowned venue became part of the drive for Glasgow to reinvent itself in the 1980s through culture and was a springboard which helped to transform the city following the demise of heavy industry.

Opening its doors for the first time in 1983, the Burrell Collection has attracted millions of visitors and now as it prepares to reopen it is hoped it will be a key asset to aid the city’s recovery from the pandemic.

Glasgow Life chief executive Dr Bridget McConnell previously described the reopening as “the most significant cultural event in Scotland, if not the UK, in 2022.”

She said the programme around the relaunch will “establish the new Burrell in the minds of local, national and international audiences” and could also see Pollok country park, which houses the Burrell, established as a “major local and tourist destination in the south of the city – strengthening the tourist offer there.”