Home ProjectsThe Mayor's Small Venues Fund

The Mayor's Small Venues Fund

Supporting Grassroots Creativity Across the North East

Project details

Portfolio: Culture, creative, tourism and sport

Funding amount: £2.2 million

Project status: In progress

Key contact: Lisa Harwood

Key contact email: smallvenuesfund@NorthEast-ca.gov.uk

Page last updated 19-10-2026

The Mayor’s Small Venues Fund is codesigned with creative industry partners and organisations to help creative spaces thrive and grow, the fund will help small venues grown, improve and become more sustainable, recognising the role small venues play in local communities as well as underpinning the region’s cultural identity.

Over the next three years, we will invest £2.2m into small venues across the North East. Grants from £3,000 to £100,000 will support small venues projects that strengthen venues for the future.

The fund will be delivered in two stages. This gives us the chance to learn from the first round of funding, with feedback from industry partners, organisations and venues, and make improvements before launching the second round. Phase one will run for the first 12 months, and the second phase will run for the subsequent two years.

Applications for phase one open in November 2026.

Preparing Your Application

Whether you're looking to improve facilities, invest in equipment, grow your audience or create new opportunities, we want to understand what you're planning and the difference the funding could make.

Before you apply, it's worth spending some time thinking about your project and gathering any information that might help support your application.

We'll be looking at:

Why the funding is needed
What you want to do
The difference it will make
How it will help your venue in the future

You don't need to use funding jargon or write a formal business case. Tell us about your venue, your plans and why the project matters. The strongest applications will clearly explain why the investment is needed, how it will be delivered, and the lasting difference it will make.

Grants up to £20,000

You need to provide details about:

Your venue
Why funding is needed
Your project and costs
The difference the funding will make
How you’ll measure success
Any other public funding you have received

Preparing applications for grants up to £20,000

Grants from £20,000 up to £100,000

You need to provide details about:

Your venue and the organisation
Why the project matters
Future impact of your venue
Project delivery plans and costs
Impact on audiences, artists and communities
Inclusion and sustainability
Details of any other public funding you have received

Preparing applications for grants from £20,000 up to £100,000

North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness said:

“Grassroots venues are a cornerstone to our identity, and vital for our future as a creative powerhouse. But years of tax hikes and lack of support, means it’s harder than ever for venues to stay open, let alone thrive or grow.

“This fund is about protecting the places where local talent takes its first steps and legacies are started, and where friends come together and memories are made.

“This is just part of my plan to build resilience and create opportunities across the whole creative industries in the region, from first gigs to big stages, to skills and training, and a boosting events that local people across the region can enjoy.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What can the grants be used for?

The fund will offer two types of support: revenue grants and capital grants.

Revenue grants can help improve your business, grow your audience and increase income, and will support

mentorship and consultancy services
business planning and development
website development
bid writing
feasibility studies
market research
marketing and promotional tools.

These are just examples. If you have an idea that will help your venue become more sustainable or grow, we’d encourage you to get in touch by emailing smallvenuesfund@NorthEast-ca.gov.uk.

For some venues, revenue funding may be the first step towards bigger capital projects in the future.

Capital grants can help fund improvements to your venue or support the purchase of equipment. Funding could be used for:

Construction works and associated costs
Sound equipment
Lighting equipment
Back line
Staging
Furniture
Green energy solutions
Accessibility improvements
Retrofit/refurbishment costs.

These are examples rather than a complete list. Every application will be considered on its own merits, and we’re happy to discuss proposals before you apply, to make sure the Small Venues Fund is the right path for you.

Who can apply?

Eligibility:

If you’re not sure if your organisation fits the criteria, we’d still encourage you to get in touch. We’d be happy to talk through your ideas and explore whether the Small Venues Fund, or another programme could help.

The fund will support permanent venues whose primary business activity is to deliver live creative events and performances. They include (but are not limited to):

Performance and Stage including independent theatres, concert halls and specialised stages that host live creative shows including music, dance, theatre and immersive art.
Multi-use venues including space for creative artists to work and/or rehearse as well as exhibit, perform and host live creative events

Size:

As a guide:

Seated capacity in the region of50 to 300 seated, or
Standing capacity in the region of 50 to 500 standing.

While it is important to provide guidance on what we mean by a "small" venue, we do not want to introduce overly restrictive criteria that might prevent eligible venues from accessing support for creative activity.

Ownership:

The fund is open to:

Privately owned and operated venues
Not for profit owned and managed venues including Community Interest Companies (CIC), Charitable Trusts
Public sector owned venues, managed by an independent operator

To receive funding, you must be able to show how it will lead to increased sustainability or growth for example, through additional footfall and income, business development, scaling up or diversifying/increasing programming

Join our mailing list

Be the first to hear about programme updates, as well as application reminders via our Creative Sector Round-up newsletter.