FOUR key arts schemes within west Wiltshire are to benefit from £36,000 worth of funding in the coming year.

Grants to the Arc Theatre in Trowbridge, the Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire Youth Arts Partnership and Rural Arts Wiltshire were approved by the district council's cabinet at its meeting on March 8.

Cllr Gordon Cox, West Wiltshire District Council's leisure portfolio holder, said: "These four organisations underpin much of west Wiltshire's arts activity, which is why we have made this three-year commitment to support them.

"Our funding helps them to access other finance and it has also provided a level of certainty.

"There really is something for everyone on offer through these groups, and I urge local people to find out what is available to them."

The Arc Theatre plays host to a range of dance and music events as well as stand-up comedy, plays and workshops.

It is to get £11,000, which will go towards providing workshops and putting on performances.

Artistic director Deryck Newland said: "We are grateful for this funding. If you want to sustain communities, they need a cultural dimension."

Rural Arts Wiltshire works with volunteers in villages to stage professional arts events and workshops on their doorstep.

Its £5,500 grant will help put on more than 20 events in west Wiltshire, bringing arts activities to both the youngest and oldest residents in rural communities.

Wiltshire Music Centre houses nine workshop and meeting spaces and a 300-seat concert hall.

The centre runs education and community projects alongside high-profile public concerts, and will spend the £13,000 grant on its range of projects that encourages people of all ages is to get involved in music. Keith Nimmo, chief executive and artistic director, said: "We are hugely grateful for the authority's continued support.

"It enables us to work with a very wide range of people, with all sorts of different musical interests and at all levels of ability."

Wiltshire Youth Arts Partnership, which will receive £6,500, aims to stimulate opportunities for people aged 13-21 and enable them to take part in, and gain skills from, high quality arts activities that are relevant to their needs and interests.

District council arts development officer Meril Morgan said: "This money helps deliver opportunities people may not have had before, in particular the young people."