How a council grant of £50,000 to a Grantham dance company has become the subject of some controversy.

The issue arose as part of a long-running campaign for better accountability and transparency at South Kesteven District Council and its off-shoot companies by Deepings councillor Ashley Baxter.

Recently, Coun Baxter asked how the Grantham-based Chantry Dance secured a £50,000 grant from InvestSK, the council's economic regeneration company.

In the interests of fairness to all, and to be transparent ourselves, Nub News has decided to produce statements in full from Coun Baxter, South Kesteven District Council and Chantry Dance. Chantry Dance also asked us to quote them in full.

Coun Baxter told Nub News: ""My problem is not with Chantry Dance, it is with the way that InvestSK Ltd can award such large amounts of public money with so little transparency and accountability.

"Chantry appears to be an charitable organisation promoting dance and the arts but there are plenty of dance schools across the District who will be wondering why the council have awarded £50,000 to once dance organisation while ignoring so many others. The fact is that officers of InvestSK Ltd is making unilateral decisions of this kind without any democratic accountability or scrutiny."

"I only found out about this grant because I asked a question about InvestSKs spending. A decision of this significance should be reported via committee and so should all the other grants that InvestSK has given to churches, sports clubs and retail businesses".

South Kesteven District Council issued the following statement to Nub News: "As part of South Kesteven's cultural strategy to support creative talent and arts organisations in the district, Chantry Dance Company was accepted as South Kesteven District Council's first creative arts district portfolio organisation in March 2019.

"In March 2019 Chantry Dance Company received approval for a £50,000 grant from InvestSK, the council's economic development company, as part of a two-year agreement to support the business to grow and develop a national presence. £25,000 was paid in year one of the agreement, a second grant of £9,000 was made in September 2019, with the balance of £16,000 made in March 2020.

"The company's business plan and growth targets were agreed with InvestSK in advance, with monitoring undertaken at regular intervals to check progress against the set criteria before the next grant installment was paid.

"The district portfolio programme was designed to give South Kesteven's creative companies every opportunity to develop their skills, offer and profile, and to upscale their business to reach a national audience. Celebrating their success and enabling their work to be enjoyed by a national audience would support South Kesteven's wider ambition of boosting our local cultural offer, encouraging more home-grown talent into the arts sector and delivering an enhanced cultural programme for local residents and visitors to enjoy.

"The creative sector has traditionally played a significant role in economic development so supporting a high-quality national company was a natural part of InvestSK's original brief.

"Chantry Dance Company's ability to provide an ambassadorial role for the district's cultural aspirations also supported InvestSK's wider engagement with Arts Council England, demonstrating South Kesteven's long term commitment to meaningful cultural partnerships".

Chantry Dance has also issued the following statement to Nub News:" Chantry Dance is a professional UK touring Contemporary Ballet company based in Grantham, founded by Grantham-born Paul Chantry and Rae Piper known for their highprofile choreographic work such as the Olivier-nominated 'Gangsta Granny', 'Billionaire Boy', and 'Horrible Histories', as well as musicals, operas and contemporary dance.

"Chantry Dance has toured shows across the UK since 2012, premiering in Grantham, with a company of international, highly skilled dance artists who have previously performed with companies such as Royal New Zealand Ballet, The Royal Opera and San Francisco Ballet.

"We were thrilled to receive a grant in 2019 from Invest SK as the only professional dance

company in the district at the time which enabled us to develop our local and national

presence. It has enabled us to work with local and national talent in the form of dancers,

lighting designers, singers and costumiers, as well as evolve our business plan and future

direction as proud ambassadors for Grantham and South Kesteven.

"Not only have we have been able to offer work to local dance artists, but also to professional dancers from the UK and Europe, who then come to work with us here, in Grantham, contributing towards the recognition of Grantham and South Kesteven as a creative hub.

"Moreover, the grant has enabled Piper and Chantry to continue their choreographic work

under the name of Chantry Dance for high-profile national companies including the awardwinning English Touring Opera and Birmingham Stage Company. Within this work, Piper and Chantry are building a legacy and flying the flag for South Kesteven on a national level.

"In addition to our professional performances, the grant has benefitted both our

Participation and Education departments. These departments offer dance opportunities to

communities and pre-vocational/vocational training to dance students to complement that

which they already receive at their local recreational dance schools. Every month we

welcome to Grantham dance students not only from the local region, but also from all over

the UK, proving that excellent dance opportunities exist in this area. "Because of the support from Invest SK, we were able to adapt our work during lockdown.

We provided a wealth of free content via our youtube channel and social media to local and

national communities, including Chantry performances, interviews with high-profile industry

artists such as Bill Deamer, Sierra Boggess and Dominic North, and dance and fitness classes.

Additionally, we were able to retain our education work and take our participation work to

new UK areas by utilising online platforms.

"Within our company activities, we are constantly striving to support and champion our local

area, and to highlight to the national dance sector that our region is capable of creating

work that compares very favourably with that produced in large cities.

"As a result of this funding, our desire is to continue to see Chantry Dance develop, to

continue to provide a valuable community resource, and to continue to represent South

Kesteven with pride on the regional and national landscape."