Celebrated Leeds working men's club gets £70,000 government grant

The fund, which the Government said is to "make sure that everyone continues to have access to arts and culture", has announced millions of pounds of grants for community-driven arts organisations and creative projects.

Joanna Resnick, executive producer of The Holbeck said: "The Holbeck Club serves the community in so many ways- an everyday cultural palace- a place to learn, laugh and relax.

"This vital funding means that we can continue to do this in these trying times. We’re incredibly grateful for it."

In August 2021, the show "Is Anyone There?" starred some with a history of offending, to help challenge preconceptions of offenders. The club also help set up a community football team and only last week held an eight-hour dance-athon to raise money for charity.

Speaking about the announcement, arts Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay said: “Being cut off from them during lockdown has underlined what a vital role cultural organisations play in their community up and down the country. The Government stood by them in the pandemic, and is determined that they should remain open and accessible to everyone - now and for generations to come.

“I am very proud of the Culture Recovery Fund and the lifeline it has provided for cherished organisations in every part of the country.”

The club first opened in 1871, before moving to its current site on Jenkinson Lawn, off Holbeck Moor Road, in 1877.