A "cultural wasteland" was the fate writer Lee Hall - who set stories like Billy Elliot and the Pitmen Painters in north-east England - predicted for his home city.
"The tumbleweed will start blowing up the cultural streets here," he warned in 2013 after Newcastle City Council put forward a plan to axe its £1.2m annual arts budget.
Opposition such as this led the council to search down the back of the sofa and eventually come up with £600,000 per year - half the previous amount - for a new cultural fund, which kicks in this week.