Uni set for move into The Public
Thursday 29th January 2009, 11:30AM GMT.
Wolverhampton University is in talks to set up a new home at troubled Black Country arts centre The Public, in West Bromwich, it has been revealed today.
See also: Archive video: The Public reveals its secrets
University bosses are in negotiations to invest in an entire floor of the £63 million centre – despite fears its main gallery will never open after the Arts Council withdrew funding.
It walked away from the project yesterday, giving Sandwell Council a parting gift of £3m and telling it to find an alternative use for the gallery, which has been shut since the building opened last June.
The Public was designed as a “hub” for creative businesses, as well as offering a performance space and an art gallery. But it has been plagued with problems and criticism with only one business, Major Key Studios, moving in.
In addition to the unopened art gallery there is still 15,000 sq ft of business space to let across two floors.
Leader of Sandwell council, Councillor Bill Thomas said: “The university is hoping to take up the whole of the fourth floor.
“Now that the council has full control of the building we can operate on a much more commercial basis.”
Ashar Ehsan, director of marketing and communication at Wolverhampton University confirmed the plans.
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And who pays for Wolvo Uni? The taxpayer. Find a private sector solution – we have paid enough already.
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great we are bailing out sandwell town now
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perhaps now is the time for sandwell counclors to publicly apologise to to the publc for wasting their money although i will not hold my breath its also time to come clean on what it has cost each taxpayer and th likely cost for the future i am glad wolverhamton uni is takink some of the space infact it would be a good idea to just give it away to tham as long as they pay the costs to run it
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I thought Wolverhampton Uni was full of intelligent people….
It is not intelligent to invest in some poxy tax soaking scheme.
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Fine if the Uni want to rent space. They’d have to rent elsewhere otherwise.
Yes, some taxpayers money. A lot of students money too. Students have to pay over £3,000 a year for many courses these days.
Not sure how a private sector solution would be cheaper. At the end of the day its what suits within the budget.
And negotiating from a position of strength tends to be a good thing. For the one in that position anyway.
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Comment no2- You ain’t bailing no one out considering whton is a near bankrupt council its self. Wonder where they found this funding from?
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Martin – a private sector solution is cheaper because it is then self-sufficient. Not reliant on the arts council, Sandwell council or whoever to pay for it…..lets be honest, it will never pay its own way as it is.
More to the point, what if Wolverhampton Uni don’t need to rent space? Or could rent space cheaper elsewhere? There are plenty of cheap, disused buildings in Wolves that could be used. The public would milk Wolves uni for the maximum. Why? Because it’s taxpayer funded.
As for the £3000 per student – most of these are paid with via grants or via loans at 1-2%, paid for and backed respectively by the taxpayer. So really, the taxpayer is still paying.
It’s all a waste of public money, by a money wasting government, a money wasting local council and money wasting quangos like the arts council.
Labour = waste. Don’t we all know that by now.
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No 7-Labour = wasted money on things for the public rightly or wrongly
Tory = wasted money on themselves only and their rich counter parts
Liberal =we’re not sure untill we find out what the other two parties are doing!!!!!!!
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If you are going to make expansive quotes about student loans (David mullard) at least get your facts right – the current interest rate for a student loan is 4.8% – not 1-2% add to that the fact that a student on average is leaving University with a debt of between £10 – 20,000 after 3/4 years which immediately starts being clawed back from their salary (once they earn in excess of £15000), the tax payer is getting a fair to good deal – better educated work force with a loan rather than the old – here is a grant you don’t pay back solution – so the money returns to the exchequers coffers. As for whether the University of Wolverhampton should rent the space – not knowing the economics behind the deal it is difficult to speculate – however the more attractive the University facilities the more (and better qualified) students the University will attract. More students = more funding, better students = better reputation and of course not ALL the students attracted will be from the UK – and overseas students pay higher fee’s, get no government help and are pure “profit” to the University. So on balance using the white elephant makes sound commercial sense.
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I know it’s easy to bemoan wolves uni & the Arts Council etc over this white elephant but I think the people of Sandwell should find out who within the council agreed to sign up for another waste of money to be built ‘remember the pizza hut in Olbury’ and they should be made to explain there actions and then removed. there are buzz words in local authorities such as “Best Value” and “Fit for Purpose” This shambles again is neither best value or fit for purpose for the people of Sandwell.
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The level of ignorance on this site amazes me! It makes good sound commercial sense for Wolverhampton University to lease space in the Public. A brand new building which can be set up to meet the needs of the University in the 21st Century. A new base for the University in part of the Black Country where it doesn’t currently have a presence. A convenient location in the centre of West Bromwich – easy travelling for students & staff.
It is a no brainer – win/win situation for everybody involved and the Council will even get a commercial rent for a building which it never wanted in the first place.
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Well said no.11.
It is much better to look at positives, rather than negatives and the usual blame culture.
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Great idea roger. So a near bankrupt council gives money to its neighbouring council to finance something thats cost the tax payer millions already. The purpose it might serve is fine but financialy it;s a no brainer. No more council tax payers funds can be put into this white elephant!
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Brian, how is a council giving money to Sandwell?
Last I looked, Wolverhampton Uni isn’t a council.
It has income, it spends the income.
So long as its within the Uni’s budget, does it really matter who they rent off?
Number 7, David, student loans are a loan by the taxpayer. Done in such a way that the money will tend to be paid back. With interest, so taxpayer doesn’t lose out. May not make money on it, but also don’t lose out.
So its actually student money at the end of the day being paid to the Uni. Just borrowed from a cheap source.
Rather cheaper for the taxpayer than the old system of the taxpayer paying the course fees with no payment back.
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Why does wolverhampton Uni want to spread over to West Brom? Surely it would be better to rent premises in Wolverhampton and keep it in the local economy?
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Martin Davies, strange no private investors what this abortion, I wonder why????
Its far easier to spend other peoples money than your own, that’s why this abortion came about in the first place, do you really believe that if the councillors had to put one penny of their own money into this, that it would have been built in the first place?? And it certainly wouldn’t have attracted a £30 odd million overspend.
There has got to be a public investigation into this fiasco, it has got to be made public why there were so many meeting behind closed doors!!!!
Sandwell Labour Councillors have got to face the people who are paying for this, the people who are paying the Councillors money to do a job that so far hasn’t been done.
Jim of Bearwood
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Approx 90% of people in sandwell suggested better ways of spending taxpayers money,but they chose to ignore it .these councilors should be treated as criminals,this is supposed to be a democrecy,we vote for these people,once they are elected they just ignore the needs of the people they are supposed to represent
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I think it is disgusting at how much money Labour council have waisted on this project.
The Public opened its doors in July last year and has not charged a single admission fee ever since.
Who is paying for the heating, lighting and wages of those who work there – US TAXPAYERS!!
I say close it now and make the building into either a swimming pool that the council have now put on the back burner as they have no cash or a Cinema or bowling alley…
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Martin Davies, strange no private investors what this abortion, I wonder why????
Its far easier to spend other peoples money than your own, that’s why this abortion came about in the first place, do you really believe that if the councillors had to put one penny of their own money into this, that it would have been built in the first place?? And it certainly wouldn’t have attracted a £30 odd million overspend.
There has got to be a public investigation into this fiasco, it has got to be made public why there were so many meeting behind closed doors!!!!
Sandwell Labour Councillors have got to face the people who are paying for this, the people who are paying the Councillors money to do a job that so far hasn’t been done.
Jim of Bearwood.
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This message has been sent to all employees with council email addresses on behalf of The Chief Executive.
_____________________________________________________________
The Public – Open for Business
In the light of yesterday’s somewhat confusing media coverage of the Arts Council’s funding award, I would like to reassure everyone that The Public is very much open for business.
We are delighted with the Arts Council’s indication that they are willing to commit £3 million to the council for The Public over the next two years. This is all the support we had asked for and it gives us a firm foundation for the future. The project is actually at a very exciting stage and we are extremely optimistic about the future.
Work has already started on a revised business plan to map out our strategy and get the gallery open as soon as possible. We have invited Sandwell Leisure Trust to submit their ideas for future management of the whole building, including the interactive gallery.
The gallery is in the final stages of testing, talks are at an advanced stage with potential new business tenants, the community and corporate events side continues to flourish, music and entertainment remains popular and the Arts Council’s commitment to continued co-operation gives us a stable foundation to move forward with confidence.
Allison Fraser
Chief Executive
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I’m sure only a marginal proportion of tax payers money will go toward Wolverhampton Uni buying up space in The Public. The space is very flexible for the university to use it for whatever they need, and in turn student’s will get a nice environment. The Public isn’t just about the doomed gallery, it’s a building that’s adaptable to anything. Major Key Studio’s seems like a great project for the university to back-it’s only expanding due to a greater number of students. Elephants are very beautiful animals!
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Martin-as any one will tell you in finance that any uni or college is funded direct from their council as are the education authorities. The local council pays their salary so they are funding sandwell councils white elephant.
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Brian – and where exactly do the fees the students usually get a loan for go then?
Over £3,000 a year – last I looked payable to the Uni by the student loan company.
So exactly how much is being paid by any council?
With over 20,000 students, some international so paying more, how much does Wolverhampton council pay the Uni?
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Just to clear up some misinformation…
Universities are not funded by local councils. They are funded by ‘HEfCE’ – the Higher Education funding council for England – a governement body. Therefore, if the University did decide to move into the public, it would not cost Wolverhampton Council a single penny.
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An interesting development considering the Art side of Wolves Uni is planning big staff cuts this year.
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Karl-it would cost the tax payer and thats the issue with this white elephant. Its all tax payers money afterall. I agree there s a need to find a use for the building after the money thats been spent on it,but there seems to be alot of people against spending more public money on this project,and the feelings of the people are running rather high at the moment.
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Martin-once again its tax payers money that funds the students and then funds this building for the university so the people should decide,after all its their money thats being wasted all the time!
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Brian, surely its up to those who run the Uni as to where they rent?
If some place can meet their requirements, within budget, and has facilities, its up to the Uni.
The University gets its money. It supplies services.
If the Public had no tenants, and shut down, how is that better for Sandwell than having some tenants who will also boost the local economy in a small way? Students aren’t exactly known for not spending money in the locality.
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Occasionally I will post on these forums and love reading the incredulous ill informed ramblings that appear by the same old soap boxers. If I have to read or hear how Sandwell should have spent the money on a swimming pool I’m sure my ears and eyes will bleed. Tipton has a big leisure centre but Sandwell townsfolk don’t like to venture outside of their town into a neighbouring town too much for fear of spontaneous combustion, then again West Brom had a cinema once, and a swimming pool until recently but the journey to the very local gala baths seemed too much and closed as no-one went. The building is there, accept it. Why are you always content that everything different, exciting or what you deem is not for you should always be elsewhere? Open your eyes, embrace change of any format cause West Brom has been continually in decline since the 60′s at least once The Public began investment returned to the town. I’m sure you will all love the nexw Tesco once that appears and I bet you love the discounts at Astell park, a retail zone that wasn’t on the cards till The Public began. Leave your naysaying at the door, your own personal well being may improve if a positive attitude exuded from you, maybe the problems that have dogged the building wouldn’t have been so great if more people had supported it. I would like to praise the sense that Karl bought to your rants by pointing out where Wolves Uni funding comes from, read more and rant less and you too could be an informed individual like Karl
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Karl, Martin Davies referred to your excellent input:
Just to clear up some misinformation…
Universities are not funded by local councils. They are funded by ‘HEfCE’ – the Higher Education funding council for England – a governement body. Therefore, if the University did decide to move into the public, it would not cost Wolverhampton Council a single penny.
No matter how the facts are tarted up, the cost is without doubt met by the British Taxpayer, The British Government doesn’t have one penny of its own.
Do people get the same impression as me that not all comments made in this column are from the general public, and could be from people with a vested interest in saving this disaster?????
GLAD I’M NOT YOU, who elected you as leader, to tell us what our views and actions should be??????
When you pay my council and income tax, then you can dictate what we say in these columns.
Ill informed ramblings????????
TIPTON HAS A BIG LEISURE CENTRE BUT SANDWELL TOWNSFOLK DON’T LIKE TO VENTURE OUTSIDE OF THEIR TOWN INTO A NEIGHBOURING TOWN TOO MUCH FOR FEAR OF SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION, so we all now have free travel to these venues then???? Do you realise how far people have to travel around the borough to get to these venues, and also the astronomical travel costs for hard pressed families, many are surviving on basic benefits?????
Who closed the Gala Baths? Sandwell Council!!! Just as they closed or attempted to close several other public baths that they deliberately allowed to fall into disrepair, the school swimming baths at Dartmouth High School, perfectly well maintained baths that were used by over a 100 youngsters, closed down; using the Gala Baths would have involved these young children travelling 7 miles either way, some of these were 5 and 6 year olds, should we expect them to walk there themselves???
THE BUILDING IS THERE, ACCEPT IT!!!!!! NO we the people paying for it don’t want it, its our money, don’t dictate to us what we have to do.
WEST BROM HAS BEEN CONTINUALLY IN DECLINE SINCE THE 60’S, and why????? Because faceless wonders in our councils decided to knock down beautiful old buildings with character, and to replace them with cold, featureless. dirty concrete monstrosities.
THE PROBLEMS THAT HAVE DOGGED THE BUILDING WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN SO GREAT IF MORE PEOPLE HAD SUPPORTED IT, can you justify that comment please? Particularly in view of the fact that any sort of input from the public has been totally ignored by Sandwell Council, from their first decree that we were to be inflicted with this abortion, so how were we responsible for its demise?????
Ill informed ramblings???????? GLAD I’M NOT YOU, I understand perfectly what you mean.
Jim Gull, Bearwood.
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Correct Jim. Tax payers money no matter how you dress it up, even if its not all directly from Sandwell people this time. Bring it on whton if you’ve got the money and lack of brains where to put it ,i’m sure there’s folks out there to see some easy pickings and take it off you!
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And if its left empty, without tenants, then the taxpayer has to pay for it.
Not students paying the Uni which then pays rent, no other companies who could decide to move in. But the taxpayer.
Whether the building is full, empty or demolished, someone has to pay.
Do the local residents prefer its someone else other than their council? Or do they want their council to have the whole bill?
Brian – student loans are not taxpayers giving students money. Its taxpayers lending money they then charge interest on. So pretty revenue neutral.
Don’t forget too – students are taxpayers too. Never met a student who wasn’t.
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Martin Davies
“AND IF ITS LEFT EMPTY, WITHOUT TENANTS, THEN THE TAXPAYER HAS TO PAY FOR IT”
Martin Davies that’s exactly right, and hopefully it will be an incentive for the people footing the bill, to take action to hold these faceless wonders running Sandwell Labour Council, to account for this fiasco!!!!
Martin Davies, there is no excuse for what they have done, they knew from its first conception that the people who would have to pay for this disaster, didn’t want their hard earned and limited resources poured down the drain to pay for it.
WHETHER THE BUILDING IS FULL, EMPTY OR DEMOLISHED, SOMEONE HAS TO PAY.
And that’s us the Council Taxpayer, the first thing that should happen is a local election should be called, the second thing that that should happen is that all financial details and minutes of meetings, should be published, for all to see, on the internet, no more cover up.
Jim of Bearwood.
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