ARTS organisations in the city could be facing an uncertain future because of the way the council has changed how it awards funding, a group has warned.

Worcester Arts Council, which was set up to promote arts in the city, receives a £3,500 yearly grant from Worcester City Council but has said changes to the way funding is awarded means many organisations, including itself, could miss out and has called for the decision to be reversed.

The arts council has awarded grants to numerous organisations over the years, many of them amateur, to help purchase much-needed equipment or to protect them against making a loss on a production.

Worcester Arts Council chairman George Squires said the changes to council funding meant the organisation may not be able to operate as it had done in past and would put many city art organisations at risk because they would be unable to secure funding.

"As a result of Worcester City Council changing the way it awards grants, Worcester Arts Council may not be able to continue to operate as it has done, making it harder for many Worcester based arts organisations to secure grant funding and putting their future at risk.

"During the last three years alone, Worcester Arts Council has supported a number of projects, costing the council £9,000, from which at least 10,000 people in Worcester have benefited," he said. "£9,000 over three years to support more than 10,000 people in Worcester would seem to represent good value for money."

The changes to the awarding of grant money in 2018 mean outside organisations must apply to the Worcester City Council Small Community Grants Scheme for money.

The money supports community groups and voluntary sector organisations to deliver projects and are targeted at benefitting people who live in Worcester.

Worcester Arts Council said the main issues were that it was not a community groups or voluntary organisation and it did not deliver projects and its main focus was to enable other organisations to deliver projects.

A council spokesman said: “We remain keen to work with Worcester Arts Council, so that it can continue to deliver services across the city and would welcome further conversation to better understand how Worcester Arts Council could benefit from the range of grants the council offers."