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# The five-year funding round that will shape local culture
- URL: https://www.stagewhispers.co.uk/the-five-year-funding-round-that-will-shape-local-culture/
- Published: 2026-10-05T13:17:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-06T13:18:07.000Z
- Description: Applications open on 20th October. Almost no community group can apply, but the decisions will shape what your town gets to see until 2033.
- Author: James Farwood
- Tags: Theatre News

Arts Council England has published the guidance for its 2028-33 National Portfolio Investment Programme, the multi-year funding that keeps hundreds of theatres, museums, libraries and arts organisations running. The application portal opens on 20 October 2026 and closes on 15 December. Decisions are due in July 2027, and the new portfolio starts in April 2028.

## What has changed

Three changes stand out. The round now lasts five years instead of three. The application has been simplified, with no attachments or detailed delivery plans required unless funding is offered. And for the first time, new Regional Boards and feedback from Mayoral Strategic Authorities will feed into decisions, alongside a survey of 20,000 people about the culture they want where they live. Chief executive Darren Henley has been blunt: "Money is tight. This is going to be a really competitive investment round."

## What the coverage leaves out

The minimum request is £50,000 a year, with no upper limit. That rules out almost every amateur and community theatre group in the country before anyone reads a word of our applications.

The guidance also says applicants must request the same amount in every year. Over five years, that is a flat-cash settlement: an organisation offered funding in 2027 will receive the same figure in 2033, whatever happens to energy bills and wages in between. Longer stability is genuinely welcome, but it also locks in a slow real-terms cut for anyone whose costs rise.

The five-year term cuts the other way too. Whichever organisations get in will shape the professional cultural offer in each area until 2033, and the next chance to change that is a long way off.

## What it means for community groups

We probably can't apply. We can, though, still be in the room. Local voice is now formally part of the process, and applicants will be keen to show how they serve their communities. Between now and 15th December, the venues and arts organisations near you that are applying will be looking for evidence of real partnerships, shared audiences and participation.

If you hire a local venue, share audiences with a nearby company or run workshops together, talk to them now about being part of their plans. A short quote, a few figures about the audiences you share or a joint project they can describe costs you an afternoon. Being left out of the picture costs five years.