NEWCASTLE’S under-threat arts and culture sector will be saved with a £600,000 a year fund. City leaders will hand over the cash to an independent fund panel alongside a call for business and North East celebrities to also contribute.

The move sees Newcastle City Council make the annual funding commitment after months of uncertainty following a proposed 100% reduction in arts support.

While still representing a drastic cut on the £1.15m handed out this year to venues including Theatre Royal the fund will, council bosses say, mean a guaranteed minimum funding stream for years to come.

Alongside it is a promise to maintain a £9m account used to help venues pay for new building and expansion work.

The council will pay for the annual contribution of £600,000 with a variety of savings as well as promising a set percentage of the city’s collected business rates. It will also use some of the money generated by the council’s stake in Newcastle International Airport.

Council leader Nick Forbes said the £600,000 sum could be much higher, with the independently managed fund open to contributions from concerned residents, businesses and cultural icons.

Since the council’s decision to axe funding was announced last year celebrities such as Sting and playwright Lee Hall have attacked the council.

Now, Mr Forbes said, is the chance for them and others to show their commitment.

He added: “This frees arts up from the boom and bust of uncertain council funding and allows others to also back the arts. We will not have control over the fund, we will make this money available to help and for others to also help.

“We want all those who care about arts to also have their chance to contribute. The £600,000 is the minimum we provide, but there will hopefully be others who also show their support. I have had people contact me saying they would love to make a contribution to the arts in Newcastle, but are not sure how to do it. This is that chance.

“We also had some very wealthy artists take an interest in the arts. This is their opportunity to do something.”

The fund will be up and running by 2016, with current council subsidies reduced by at least 15% next year and then further reduced ahead of the creation of the new pot.

That reduction is similar to other councils in the region which have avoided a 100% budget blow but still imposed hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of cuts to arts.

Groups will bid for three-year funding programmes in a similar way to that in which the Arts Council hands out grants.

Mr Forbes said: “The value of arts in Newcastle cannot be underestimated, I know that, and this is our way of showing the city’s long-term commitment to that.

“But councils are faced with increasingly difficult cuts to make over the next three years, and by ensuring the arts and culture sector has guaranteed funding way beyond the next comprehensive spending review is our way of ensuring those venues continue their important work in the city.”

Last night the arts sector appeared to welcome the move.

Alison Clark-Jenkins, regional director, Arts Council England, said: “What is emerging is an innovative proposal which is committed to developing alternative sustainable funding arrangements for cultural activity in the city in the medium to long term.

“We are working closely with the council to ensure our investment works hard to maintain the vibrancy of the cultural offer.”