Parklife festival founder resigns from role as Greater Manchester's night time czar

Andy Burnham ‘accepted Sacha Lord’s resignation last night’ from his role as the mayor’s night-time economy adviser.

The mayor said in a statement he ‘accepted’ Mr Lord’s decision to step down ‘with regret’  in the wake of the Arts Council’s withdrawal of a £401,000 grant today (January 29).

Mr Lord had been subject to an Arts Council investigation over the Covid-19 ‘Culture Recovery Fund’ grant given to Primary Event Solutions, which he owned 30 percent of before it entered liquidation.

The ‘additional checks’ have now concluded and a spokesperson said: “Following a thorough review of the application that Primary Event Solutions submitted to the Culture Recovery Fund in 2021, our decision is to withdraw the grant that was awarded and we are seeking to recover this money.”

Following this, the government-funded cultural development agency and charity issued a statement saying: “In light of new information that has been directly brought to our attention this week, we will be conducting additional checks on the application from Primary Event Solutions.”

Mr Lord responded by saying he ‘accepts that the grant status has been updated’. He was named the mayor’s night-time economy adviser in 2018. However, the Warehouse Project and Parklife festival founder resigned from his post this morning, his statement added.

“The emotional toll and experience over recent months has given me the opportunity to reflect and gradually step back from my role in Greater Manchester,” it said. “With heartfelt thanks to the mayor and his team, I have decided to continue in this direction and embrace a new chapter ahead – championing the sector on a national level with fresh focus and energy.”

Now, Andy Burnham has praised Mr Lord’s work in the role, which he held since 2018. He said: “Over the past seven years, as our Night-Time Economy Advisor, Sacha has been a brilliant and vocal champion for Greater Manchester’s night-time economy and cultural sectors during one of the industry’s most difficult periods in living memory. He has put a huge amount of time and energy into his work as Mayoral Advisor, supporting our councils and many local businesses. He has done all of this completely free and out of his own pocket, never taking or receiving any payment for this work.   

“Sacha has accepted there were inaccuracies in a grant application, and I believe him when he says there was no intention to mislead and that he made no personal gain from the grant. Given that the Arts Council’s Counter Fraud team previously found no misuse of public money, it is not clear to me why the Arts Council has now reached this decision.  

“Sacha has gradually stepped back from his role in recent months. Last night, he stepped down as Mayoral Advisor. With regret, I accepted his resignation and respect his decision. We value his commitment to Greater Manchester and the massive contribution he has made.”