Leading Suffolk Liberal Democrat Julia Ewart is to tell county councillors this week that cuts to theatre and arts funding will be bad for Suffolk's health.

She is the LibDem candidate for Suffolk Coastal in the next general election and is also a member of East Suffolk council.

In her council capacity she attended a meeting in June which looked at the importance of theatre and arts in supporting physical and mental health.

Now she is preparing to visit the county's scrutiny committee on Thursday to make that point as the council gets under way with its budget planning.

She said: "Having heard of the proposed blunt cuts by Suffolk County Council to cull the Art’s Budget last week for 2025, I really did stop in my tracks and considered that somebody on the council doesn’t know the value of what they’ve got to make such a short-sighted decision.

"Back in July we had given a truly enlightening presentation to the Suffolk Health & Wellbeing Board, on which I sit.

"They evidenced that the intrinsic values of the arts offer such a great resource to the health and wellbeing of Suffolk residents as a whole.

"Indeed, while the provision is non statutory obligation, it’s a vital and valuable addition.

"Not everyone can afford the West End. Not everyone has the disposition to go to National Museums.

"But local, well local is just that! Creativity of all types. Nourishing, educational, collective, historic, exciting, challenging, opportunistic, varied, memorable and most importantly ‘ours’. 

"In conclusion, everyone on the board agreed it was a great place to be and that knowing that Suffolk’s nationally revered arts presence was having such a healthy and positive effect made the overall cultural programme even more valuable to the council.

"Suffolk County Council is in the driving seat of Suffolk’s cultural community. It needs to swiftly reverse back from the cliff edge of inconsistency and cherish its enviable reputation."