In early 2025, our application to Creative Scotland for multi-year funding was unsuccessful. Transition funding has kept us going until the end of 2025, but Creative Scotland has now confirmed this will not be extended into 2026. Without securing around £300,000 by December 2025, the organisation cannot continue through the whole of 2026.

Our previous application was flawed and did not meet the required criteria. We accept responsibility for that failure. This was not a reflection of the strength of Cumbernauld Theatre Trust itself but of a poor application.

Since then, the organisation has reset under new leadership, with a stronger plan in place that is community-focused, sustainable, and realistic.

Cumbernauld Theatre Trust remains a strong organisation, with a fantastic venue to deliver its work, an important partnership with North Lanarkshire Council, and a respected role in Scotland’s touring circuit. We believe that one flawed application should not mean the end of an organisation that has served this community for more than 60 years, and the redundancy of over 40 employees.

We are under new leadership and have developed a refocused plan shaped by our audiences and our community. The model puts local people at the heart of everything we do, sustaining youth and community projects while also bringing in touring theatre, music, comedy, dance and film that reflects the people of Cumbernauld.

The Trust is now operating with a clear focus on community, participation and quality. Cumbernauld Theatre recently won the Lanarkshire Business Excellence Award for Customer Service, which shows the dedication of our staff and the warm welcome our audiences receive.

We believe so. It is a significant sum for us, but within Scotland’s wider cultural landscape it is not unachievable. With the will of funders, government, and community support, this investment would protect jobs, opportunities and a vital resource for Cumbernauld.

Every donation supports the core work of Cumbernauld Theatre Trust: protecting jobs, sustaining community classes and participatory arts, and enabling us to continue presenting theatre, music, film and events in Cumbernauld.

We are aiming to raise £50,000 from individual donations by 9 December 2025 as part of our wider £300,000 target. Alongside this, we are working with government, funders and businesses to cover the remainder.

Donations are essential because very few funding sources cover core costs such as staffing, equipment maintenance and administration. Previously, these were largely supported by Creative Scotland and NLC. Our support from the Council continues, but Creative Scotland was our most significant funder. Other funds available within Creative Scotland are project specific and do not sustain the ongoing costs of running the organisation.

If Cumbernauld Theatre Trust cannot continue operating, your donations will be used to support cultural activity in Cumbernauld delivered by other registered charities.

This campaign is about survival in the short term. Our new leadership team has put a sustainable model in place, shaped by local people and designed to give the community what it needs. If we can make it through to the next Multi Year Funding round and succeed in that application, Cumbernauld Theatre Trust will be able to plan with confidence rather than relying on short term appeals.

We are in regular contact with North Lanarkshire Council, Creative Scotland, the Scottish Government, and our local MSPs, MPs and local councillors. We are also engaging with other potential funders and businesses.

If we are unable to continue, we will need time to carefully wind up the organisation with the financial reserves that are available, and to ensure that our team of nearly 40 permanent staff are looked after and their redundancy terms respected.

Since May 2025, we have done everything asked of us. The organisation has changed leadership, created a new plan with full staff involvement, and worked with external consultants to explore sustainable options. We have engaged closely with Creative Scotland, the Scottish Government and North Lanarkshire Council, and until recently we had every reason to believe that further transition funding could be secured.

It has now been confirmed that no additional transition funding will be available. This leaves us with no choice but to act urgently and ask for community support. We have just over two months to raise the funds needed to keep Cumbernauld Theatre Trust operating until we are able to apply for multi-year funding.

At the same time, our programme has become more commercially focused and is performing strongly, with ticket sales exceeding targets, especially over the past year. Fundraising has also always been part of how we sustain the organisation, through donations and memberships. What makes this moment different is the scale and urgency of the challenge. Ticket sales and regular giving alone cannot bridge the gap, which is why we must now call on our community more directly alongside continued dialogue with funders and stakeholders.

Lanternhouse is a privately owned building that was constructed through investment from the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT). The project was delivered via the SFT-managed hub community infrastructure programme, a national scheme designed to support local authorities, stimulate economic growth and strengthen communities.

Lanternhouse is jointly operated by North Lanarkshire Council and Cumbernauld Theatre Trust. North Lanarkshire Council is responsible for the building itself, alongside community hires, while Cumbernauld Theatre Trust delivers the artistic programme, cinema and participatory activities within it.

For further background on the Scottish Futures Trust and its role, visit the Scottish Futures Trust website.

The Cottage Theatre had become structurally unsafe and did not meet modern standards of physical accessibility. It was too small and outdated to support the needs of our community. Lanternhouse was built as part of a £37 million investment in the new Cumbernauld Academy campus, supported by the Scottish Futures Trust and North Lanarkshire Council to provide Cumbernauld with a safe, modern and fully accessible cultural hub. That development included the school and the new arts centre, and without the broader project Lanternhouse would not have been built. Today the venue provides two theatres, a cinema, rehearsal studios and community spaces, it offers facilities that the town had never had before and ensures that everyone in the community can take part.

That decision would rest with North Lanarkshire Council. Lanternhouse is a fantastic community resource, and it would be a significant loss for the town if it were no longer used as a cultural hub.

There are also practical complications. The assets and equipment inside Lanternhouse belong to Cumbernauld Theatre Trust. If the Trust were to close, we would only be legally able to donate these assets to another registered charity. For the Council to take them on directly, it would be legally required to purchase them, which would involve considerable costs.

The immediate goal is to keep Cumbernauld Theatre operating until the next round of multi-year funding, which is expected in the coming years. Securing consistent funding would make the Trust sustainable and allow us to plan with confidence for the long term.

It is possible that further short-term support may be needed to bridge the gap, but there are also new funding avenues expected to open in 2027/28 that we could apply for if we are still operating. The £300,000 we are asking for now is about buying time and stability so that Cumbernauld Theatre can reach that point and return to being a securely funded cultural resource for its community.

All performances and cinema screenings are continuing as planned through 2025 and, at least, into mid-2026. If any event is cancelled or rescheduled for any reason, ticket holders will receive a full refund in line with our terms and conditions: lanternhousearts.org/terms-conditions

Creative Scotland has indicated the intention to allow limited new applications for multi-year funding in 2026 or 2027, but the timing or the details are not yet confirmed. We will continue to engage with them and other potential long-term funders. This campaign is about bridging the gap so that we can reach a point of new long-term support, apply with our new community focused plan, and secure the consistent funding needed for long term sustainability.