Arts venues across Cumbria have welcomed the Government's £1.5bn support package - though some are concerned over longer-tern uncertainties facing theatres and other establishments.

The support package, announced by the Government on Sunday, will provide arts, entertainment and cultural venues, as well as museums and English Heritage locations, with £1.57bn in emergency support to help the sector weather the short-term shocks brought about by Covid-19.

Venues, theatres and museums across Cumbria welcomed the news, though questions are still to be answered on exactly how much support places in Cumbria will get.

Lee Martin-White, chairman for the Carnegie Theatre Trust in Workington said he was particularly anxious about the lack of a clear start date for theatres - with some suggestions a full reopening of theatres will not be seen until 2021.

He also raised concerns that small, independent venues like the Carnegie would lose out on funding from this package of measures.

"Knowing what funding pressures the Government's under right now, it was welcome to hear this news. But I think for us, the devil will be in the detail, he said.

"From the information available at the moment, it'll be managed through funding partners, one of which is the Arts Council.

"One of my concerns is that they will only provide funding to those venues that have already had funding through the likes of the Arts Council.

"The Carnegie hasn't, and quite often that means we are left without funding."

While an official word on the issue has not been forthcoming, Mr Martin-White said there were suggestions in the industry that a 2021 restart was looking increasingly likely.

"Clearly, right now all indications are that we will not be able to put on any performances until next year.

"That leaves us in a very precarious position, and it's something we need clarity on."

The Theatre by the Lake in Keswick, which has made headlines in recent weeks after announcing it could not avoid job losses as a result of Covid-19, said the announcement was "great news" for the industry, but that it was too early to say what funds would be made available to the venue.

A spokeswoman for Theatre by the Lake said: "Theatre by the Lake welcomes the government’s announcement of a £1.57bn package of support for the arts, culture and heritage sector; this is great news for our industry and for the arts in the UK.

"We are waiting for more details before we are able to comment on what it means specifically for Theatre by the Lake; as of yet we do not know what funds may be available to us, or if funds can be secured in time to prevent redundancies.

"We will update further when we know more."