ARTS workers in Nottingham marched today against devastating funding cuts they say will put key institutions such as the Nottingham Playhouse at risk.

The protest by members of actors’ union Equity comes after Nottingham City Council issued a section 114 notice declaring effective bankruptcy last year, leading to a 100 per cent cut to its cultural budget.

Equity members gathered before marching to Nottingham Council House to join the larger Save Our Services demonstration taking place ahead of a crunch council executive meeting where these cuts were expected to be nodded through.

The council has been contacted for comment.

Last September Equity, the Campaign for the Arts and other cultural bodies issued an urgent plea for Parliament to step in and protect local arts funding.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank has reported that, excluding education, overall spending on each resident by English councils fell by almost a quarter in real terms between 2009-10 and 2019-20,