Arts groups braced for big funding cuts
Arts groups across the West Midlands were today facing millions of pounds of funding cuts.
Arts groups across the West Midlands were today facing millions of pounds of funding cuts.
Arts Council England unveiled its new funding for the next four years which will see arts organisations in the Black Country receiving £4.3 million in funding from April 2012.
The quango has been ordered to cut £457m over four years nationally. Among those hit by cuts is the Birmingham Royal Ballet which will see its grant fall from £8.1m this year to £7.2m in 2012/13 — and then it goes back up to £7.6m in 2015.
Wolverhampton's Arena Theatre will experience a £4,000 cut this year taking it to £48,852 before its funding soars to £114,862 by 2015.
West Bromwich based Black Country Touring, which brings touring theatre groups to the region, will also get more money, going up from £102,670 in 2011/12 to £149,761 three years later. But that follows a £7,500 cut this coming year.
The Public Arts Centre in West Bromwich is losing all funding from the Arts Council having been bailed out to the tune £32m as it went £49m over budget and having taken a "final" £3m to get it open before the Arts Council stumped up a further £100,000.
Walsall's New Art Gallery will also lose out over time as funding falls from £941,362 this year to £876,408 in 2011/12 before rising to £919,876 again three years later.
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is losing £160,710 this coming year and will get its grant frozen at £2.1m until 2013.
Chief executive Stephen Maddock said: "Whilst this is not a cash cut, in real terms this represents a total decrease of 11 per cent over three years. With less money available overall, we are relieved we have not received a further cash cut. However, combined with the cut from Birmingham City Council, this still remains a challenging time for us."
Peter Phillips, chairman of the Arts Council's West Midlands Regional Council said: "Regretfully, we were not able to fund a number of good organisations due to budget restraints, but I hope we may be able to support some of those organisations in different ways."
