COUNCILLORS have agreed to give both the Bridport Arts Centre and Bridport Museum a financial boost totalling £45,000.

Members of West Dorset District Council’s executive committee recently met to discuss awarding the grants after funding requests from a range of cultural organisations.

Councillors agreed to award £20,000 from the corporate projects reserve to the Bridport Museum Trust, which will assist with the Trust’s capital projects to improve its education and exhibition areas.

A grant of £25,000 will also be given to the Bridport Arts Centre, which will enable a project to undertake works to the building and improve the catering, box office and theatre areas, together with the energy efficiency of the building. 

The council also agreed to extend the repayment period for Bridport Arts Centre’s loan from the council until 2019, and for the repayment instalments to be deducted from any annual revenue grant paid by the council to the arts centre.

A report that went before councillors stated: “In 2002 the council established the Bridport Museum Trust Ltd and transferred both the council’s collection and operation, including staff, to the new organisation.

“The Bridport Arts Centre (BAC) is a charitable trust which owns its building and uses it todeliver a varied programme of activities and events for the for the benefit of the community and visitors.

“The district council has supported the BAC for many years and sees it as a key provider of cultural activities for the community in west Dorset.”