A bold new music venue seeking to support Wirral artists has been given crucial backing

A bold new venue set to bring regular live music to Birkenhead and Wirral has been given a major loan to help it grow.

Future Yard, on Argyle Street in Birkenhead, was set up early last year but has faced an incredibly tough start due to the pandemic.

The venue was due to start hosting gigs by April 2020, but was not able to. 12 months on, COVID restrictions are still hampering its plans.

However, Future Yard has been given a £292,500 loan from Nesta's Arts & Culture Impact Fund, which could be huge in enabling it to develop a successful venue on Argyle Street.

Five arts and culture organisations in the UK have been given loans through the charity, which is backed by public and private funding from organisations including Arts Council England, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Bank of America, Big Society Capital, and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

Craig Pennington, Future Yard co-founder, said: "We want to provide a dynamic new space for people to come together, enjoy some of the best new music in the world, support emerging artists and provide new opportunities for local young people.

"This support from Arts & Culture Finance has enabled us to buy our building on Argyle Street, bringing it into community ownership. This has ensured permanence for Future Yard CIC (Community Interest Company) and enables us to create long-term, sustained impact."

Future Yard started as a festival in Birkenhead in 2019.

Thanks to the success of the event over the August bank holiday weekend, the idea of creating a dedicated live music venue in Wirral was formed.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Christopher Torpey, Future Yard's communications director, said: "Our original plan was to open in April 2020 with a run of shows which we were billing as a 'pop-up venue'.

"But those plans all got cancelled due to COVID, and we've been rescheduling ever since.

"In the meantime we've been able to make lots of progress on the other sides of what Future Yard is, as an artist hub and training centre."

This is a key focus for Future Yard. The venue is not just about making money from gigs, it is about supporting the creative industry in Wirral.

Mr Torpey said: "We've built five studios in our basement which will be the focus of our artist membership and mentoring programme, which will be up and running in July.

"We've been able to take a small group of young people through our first Sound Check training programme, which gives people aged 16-24 from the local area the opportunity to learn all the skills and roles involved in making live music happen.

"We've also been able to make lots of headway on our pledge to be the UK's first carbon neutral grassroots music venue, which is something we're working towards – and is key to our mission – as we develop further."

So far, Future Yard has only been able to host one show with a live audience due to COVID restrictions.

That was in September 2020 with local artists She Drew The Gun, a socially-distanced show for 60 people.

The venue has innovated since then, running eight live-streamed shows.

But with outdoor hospitality venues set to open on Monday, respecting the rule of six, Mr Torpey sees a positive future for what could become a key cultural asset in Birkenhead.

He said: "We're currently working on finishing our new outdoor garden space, which is opening on Thursday, April 15. Then in May we're opening our café and bar properly, and we'll also be hosting a run of socially-distanced live shows during that period.

"From July 1 we'll be open fully in our new café/bar and garden, and with full capacity live shows in the venue. We've spent the past few months building that live programme out, and it's looking really good for the rest of this year.

"There's still plenty to fit in, but with the busy autumn touring season coming up we're hoping to have at least three shows a week in the live room, but some weeks will be even busier."

Of course all of this is assuming that the virus is kept under control and the government's roadmap stays on track, but it is hugely encouraging news for a town like Birkenhead where many feel culture has been neglected for far too long.

Francesca Sanderson, Nesta's director of arts and culture programmes and investments, said: "The arts and culture sector has been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. As our funding has grown, we welcome more applicants, especially during this difficult time.

"With evidence showing that impact investment can help organisations build resilience, this model of financing will be more important than ever. It's time more organisations in the sector realised how they could benefit from it."