Yahoo News Bootle music venue which hosted Tom Jones set for £585,000 funding boost
A popular new live music venue in Bootle is set to receive a boost after proposals were announced to allocate it more than £500,000 to turn it into a permanent events site. Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has earmarked £585,000 of financial support to Salt & Tar.
Salt & Tar opened next to Bootle Strand earlier this year and was launched by local band Red Rum Club who are part owners of the premises along with Sefton Council. The project was established with £2.1m of Combined Authority funding and was granted permission to operate for five years in 2021.
The venue has already attracted thousands of visitors and has played host to some of the world's biggest music stars including Status Quo and Tom Jones who both performed at the Music Weekender festival in August. More than 11,000 people attended the canalside venue over the course of the four-day event which also included performances from local bands and artists.
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The proposal for a further £585,000 will enable improvements to secure the venue’s future as a long-term cultural asset and allow ‘wider aspirations’ for the multi-use events space. Work is expected to start following the 2025 events programme, subject to detailed design and planning approval.
The funding, which is part of an additional £2m package that would support Sefton Council to deliver four projects across Bootle and Seaforth, will be considered at this month’s Combined Authority meeting on Friday 15 November. Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said: “Salt and Tar is a brilliant example of the sort of cultural asset that we want to support and protect.
“This funding means not only can we secure a long-term future for this much-loved venue, it will also bring new opportunities to Bootle and Seaforth, creating jobs, boosting local learning and contributing to the area’s vibrant future.”
Other projects in line for funding include up to £785,000 for the refurbishment of St George’s House, up to £580,000 for improvements to Sefton Community Learning Centre on Cambridge Road, and up to £50,000 to support the Bootle Strand Commodity Trading School.
Councillor Marion Atkinson, Leader of Sefton Council, said: “We’re really pleased to see this funding being earmarked for Sefton and it shows the confidence in what we’re doing here.
“It will help us to continue some of the great work taking place to support the local economy and improve facilities to make best use of them for the local community.”
