MP STEWART Andrew said the government would work closely with Coventrians as they attempt to salvage the city of culture legacy programme.
Coventry City of Culture Trust was overseeing a three-year legacy programme when it went into administration in February.
The Trusts collapse has cast doubt on the legacy programme, with grassroots organisation Coventry- what’s next’ looking to rebuild it from scratch.
The group is made up of various stakeholder organisations including Coventry Cathedral, the city council and Albany Theatre is looking to secure the funding previously promised to the trust.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Coventry North West MP Taiwo Owatemi said the money which was already set aside by the legacy programme is now having to be rebid for.
“A lot of the arts organisations working on this are concerned about what will happen to the money allocated to the legacy programme.
“Their biggest concern is that they’ll have to rebid for this money as they don’t have the resources to submit a bid personally.
“The government must now share the contents of the original bid with these stakeholders and ensure this money is automatically transferred to these organisations so the legacy project can continue.”
Mr Andrew, who is the Parliamentary Undersecretary for Sport and Minister for Equalities, said: “Officials are in regular discussions with Coventry City Council and I understand they’re working with those local organisations in terms of building that legacy programme.
“We’re looking forward to receiving this proposal from Coventry City Council and as soon as we get that we will consider what help we can give as a government.”
He added he was ‘more than happy’ to meet with Ms Owatemi and the city council to explore further what more can be done to help revive the legacy programme.
Ms Owatemi was speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday in a Parliamentary adjournment debate regarding support provided by the government to the Trust.
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