SOUTH Somerset District Council’s arts and entertainment service has been awarded almost £760,000 and National Portfolio Organisation status in the newly announced Arts Council England awards, covering the period from 2023 to 2026.

Adam Burgan, the venues manager for the district, says: “Becoming an NPO for the Arts Council is a huge milestone in our ambitions to create a flagship cultural offer for Somerset that will stem from the development of the Octagon Theatre. The most exciting part of this development is the opportunities it will create for our residents to benefit from the creative arts.

“Our plan was particularly focussed on those from disadvantaged backgrounds and those who haven’t enjoyed access to the creative arts and it is fantastic to be attracting more national funding into Somerset.”

With South Somerset District Council becoming part of the unitary authority for Somerset in April 2023, the new Somerset Council will become the NPO organisation with ambitions to benefit the entire county.

Work is already under way to create a Somerset Cultural Strategy, and the NPO brings another boost to providing an exciting vision for the role of arts and culture within Somerset and the communities across the county.