Visitors to Leicester’s much-loved Attenborough Arts Centre are set to benefit from six-figure government funding to undertake crucial improvements to the building.
The centre, in Lancaster Road, has been awarded £899k from the Creative Foundations Fund, which will be spent on a project which focuses on accessibility and inclusive design. The work will include a new Changing Places facility for disabled users and a range of upgrades informed by users to optimise visitor experience, environmental sustainability and income generation.
The organisation developed its proposal for the project with 288 people drawn from across its diverse user groups and communities, whose views and ideas directly shaped the plans. Attenborough Arts Centre also consulted with All-In, Leicester’s disabled-led inclusivity and accessibility-specialist organisation and Mima, the specialist inclusive design agency.
As part of Attenborough Arts Centre’s inclusive design process, the organisation will continue to work with its communities and specialist estates teams from the University of Leicester to deliver the refurbishment over the next 18 months.
The grant was awarded from the Creative Foundations Fund, part of the £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund announced by the Culture Secretary in February 2025, which delivers on the government’s Plan for Change to support economic growth and increase opportunities for people across the country and ensuring that everyone has access to high quality institutions in the places they call home.
Jennifer Francis, Chair of Attenborough Arts Centre Advisory Board, said: “We are deeply grateful to receive this major grant from DCMS and Arts Council England. Their vital investment secures the future of our well-loved building and ensures that we can look confidently to the future, as we approach our 30th birthday in 2027.”
Professor Sir Nishan Canagarajah, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester, said: “This investment is a powerful endorsement of what makes the University of Leicester distinctive: our commitment to widening participation, co-creation with our communities, and using our spaces to drive meaningful social change. The Attenborough Arts Centre exemplifies how a university can work alongside its local community to shape inclusive cultural experiences that are informed by lived experience and underpinned by research.”
Andrew Fletcher, Director of Attenborough Arts Centre, said: “We thank all of our communities who have helped us secure this vital investment and who will continue to advise us throughout this important project. The voice of our communities has always been at the heart of our organisation and defines our mission of Art For All.”
Liz Johnson, Midlands Area Director at Arts Council England, said: “Our Creative Foundations Fund invests in buildings and equipment to help keep venues across the country up and running, for everyone to enjoy. It improves sustainability and revitalises cultural assets, so organisations can provide a bolder and bigger programme of activity for their communities.
“We’re pleased to offer £899,999 funding to Attenborough Arts Centre to transform their building, making it more accessible for everyone. As well as helping to better meet the needs of diverse and underserved communities, the project will reduce running costs and secure the building for many years to come.”
In total, 130 organisations across the country are receiving a share of funding today, marking the first projects receiving cash from the government’s Arts Everywhere Fund. As the cost of living continues to affect families across Britain, funding for these venues will help provide welcoming, affordable spaces for communities to visit, come together and celebrate what makes their local area special.
Earlier this year, the Culture Secretary committed up to £1.5 billion to the cultural sector over this parliament, with the Arts Everywhere Fund aiming to save more than 1,000 cherished arts venues, museums, libraries and heritage buildings across England.
Organisations in East Midlands are sharing £5m of funding, which is administered and delivered by Arts Council England on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is made up of three funds: The Creative Foundations Fund, The Museum Estate and Development Fund and The Libraries Improvement Fund.
Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy said: “I want everyone, everywhere to feel a sense of pride about where they come from. Cultural organisations across the East Midlands are important custodians of local identity and play a key role in the story we tell ourselves as a nation.
“Our Arts Everywhere Fund is delivering on our commitment to support cultural assets across the country, increasing access and preserving them for future generations. This is demonstrated by grants announced today that will benefit ten culture venues, museums, and library services across the East Midlands.
“Arts and culture are the beating hearts of our communities, they have the power to unite us in the face of division and break down barriers to opportunity. We want to harness the power to help us build a brighter future for the people of the East Midlands.”