Arts 'an easy target' as Dudley Museum and Art Gallery faces axe
Community groups in Dudley have slammed plans to close the town's museum and art gallery as Dudley Council looks to save tens of millions of pounds over the next three years.
Opposition councillors have also rounded on bosses at Dudley Council House as it was revealed that public toilets, dog bins and gritting lorries could also be in the firing line.
Voluntary organisations in the town have been stunned by the revelation that the council is planning to close Dudley Museum and Art Gallery on Priory Street.
Finance bosses say the closure of the museum as well as cutting opening hours at the Red House Glass Cone in Wordsley could save more than £750,000 by 2018/19.
The council has said that the museum's collection would be transferred elsewhere, possibly to the archives on Castle Hill, and the building converted into housing or offices.
Keith Turley, chairman of the Dudley Society of Artists, which holds an annual exhibition at the museum, said: "I am horrified. We have an exhibition there every year and it is showcase for what we do. The art gallery puts on a range of exhibitions and to think that could all stop is just terrible.
"The arts are an easy target. They are seen as non-profitable or under used. I know from my own experience it is a very enriching and valued facility and I think there will be quite an outcry."
Steve Briscoe, who is behind plans to establish a Dudley Civic Society, said: "The Dudley art gallery is one of the best known in the country. I think it will be a real kick in the teeth for the town centre. It goes against everything the council says about trying to make Dudley a tourist attraction.
"It is really ill thought out. A lot of people go in there and it has been given plenty of good reviews. I am very shocked and really sad, " added Mr Briscoe, who is also chairman of the Friends of Buffery Park.
As well as potential jobs losses and a two per cent rise in council tax, various other measures have been added to the council's budget plan for 2015/16 to try to cut costs.
These include closing public toilets based upon use and condition, which is expected to save £50,000 over three years, focusing street cleaning on areas worst affected by litter, 'reviewing criteria' for the provision of dog and litter bins, 'rationalising' gritting vehicles and getting academy schools to pay for lollipop men and women.
