Taxpayers may foot bill for Public
Saturday 31st January 2009, 11:28AM GMT.
Taxpayers may be asked to pump more money into Black Country arts centre The Public after Sandwell Council took over full responsibility for the £63 million venue.
The council’s regeneration chief Councillor Bob Badham has refused to rule out spending more public money on the West Bromwich centre if a final £3 million grant from the Arts Council runs out.
The council has already shelled out £19.5 million, with £1.5m finalised just before Christmas.
Critics say they are concerned that local people are still not getting answers.
Conservative councillor Mary Docker, said: “I think the fact that the people in charge can’t at least come out and tell people they have paid their last bill for the building is shocking.”
Earlier this week The Public’s biggest funder the Arts Council walked away from the project, but gifted the council £3 million to fully open the centre where the main attraction, an interactive gallery, remains closed.
However, after 2011 it is not clear how much, if any, money will be available to keep it going. Councillor Docker said: “While it is fantastic news that the council has got funding from the Arts Council it needs to be spent prudently.”
When asked whether taxpayers would be asked to give more money to the project Councillor Badham said: “We are very pleased with the funding agreed by the Arts Council to take the project forward and operate the building as a whole.
“Obviously we are now in a whole new situation now and these are the discussions we need to have with them as part of the new business planning process.”
Business Awards
Book a Business Awards table
Join our celebrations of the region's best in business on Thursday March 22 - book your table now
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Express & Star and Shropshire Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases
OUR NEW APP
Get the new E&S app
Download the Express & Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
expressandstar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
I would rather deafer payment on council tax and take the chance of prison as for my hard working money going to the Public. It is of no use to me so why should I give them my share, do they listen to the people of this town No. What do the local people want in this town? Leisure centres. It would be nice to have a sun centre for every body to use and benefit from including fitness centres for all age groups, for families with children or no children.
WHY DON’T THE COUNCIL EVER LISTEN TO WHAT WE REALLY NEED ! ! !
Report abuse
When will you residents realise the Council is not here to serve you, unless you are Gay, Lesbian or an Ethnic Minority. The days when the coucil served the public went out when councillors decided to pay themselves out of our money without asking us.
Report abuse
“Taxpayers may foot bill for Public”
Replace the word May with WILL more like
Report abuse
I echo what comment 1 says,I live here and I’ve met noone who wants it or ever said they wanted it.We already pay more council tax than other borough’s.What a waste…
Report abuse
I like the Public. I won’t be deafering my payment.
Report abuse
Sandwell just announced a 1.9% council tax increase -the lowest for a while. They say there 3 Million up in their slush funds. Well that tells you where the extra money is coming from to the support this travesty! Sandwell 3 months ago said they were 12 million down. I wonder who there accountant is?
Report abuse
why do spineless councillors keep useing the word MAY when we all know the good folk of sandHELL will end up paying for this corrupt white elephant {the public},as pimpmytown says if the people who pay full council tax said enough is enough {dole benefit income support etc need not a ploy}just us who slog our guts out for a wage,said we won’t pay council tax for 1 month then lets see how the useless councillors get on.
Report abuse
HOW DARE COUNCILLOR BADHAM SPEND (WASTE) MY COUNCIL TAX ON THIS BUILDING. HOW DARE HE
HE DOES NOT HAVE THE DECENCY TO SHOW HIS FACE BUT HE CAN WASTE TAX PAYERS MONEY.
HE SHOULD BE SACKED AND FLOGGED OUTSIDE THE BUILDING. IT IS A LOCAL AND NATIONAL DISGRACE
VOTE THESE IDIOTS OUT OF POWER NOW AND ELECT POLITICIANS WHO ACTUALLY LISTEN AND SERVE THE ELECTORATE. I AM WITHHOLDING 10% OF MY COUNCIL TAX BECAUSE I WAS NOT ASKED IF I WANTED THIS
JUST THINK OF THE GOOD THINGS WE COULD HAVE DONE IN THE BOROUGH INSTEAD OF SQUANDERING THE MONEY ON THIS WASTE OF SPACE.
Report abuse
Taxpayers may be asked to pump more money into black country arts centre the public after Sandwell council took over full responsibility for the £63 million venue.
NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO. Councillor Bob Badham, we don’t pay one penny more into your fiasco,
just to help you save face!!!!!!!!
Its time you were removed from office for not using Council Taxpayers, money as we want it used.
This isn’t what the electorate want, this fact has already been clearly established by the adverse publicity it has attracted, and so your only choice now is to either close it down or knock it down, what isn’t a choice to be made by you or any of the other faceless wonders on Sandwell Labour Council, is to spend more of OUR money on this fiasco.
How about this for a suggestion???? All the money that your council has taken off us Council Taxpayers, to supply your part time councillors with private pensions, use that funds money to pay for anymore cash injections into your folly!!!!!
Jim Gull, Bearwood.
Report abuse
If you have a problem with existing councillors, change them.
We often all have a chance to vote most years in local elections. So change the councillors.
Instead it seems most don’t bother – so the people who make one lot of mistakes stay in power to make more mistakes.
How many in Sandwell voted for someone else at the last local elections? The Public problems were known about before the election – just we didn’t know the full extent until after it failed to get going.
Come on people, if you don’t like decisions by a council, get new people making decisions.
Report abuse
WILL BOB BADHAM HAVE A MEETING WHITH THE RATE PAYERS TO EXPLAIN TO US WHY HE SUPPORTS THIS USLESS PROJECT I HAVE NOT MET ONE PERSON WHO WANTS IT SO COME ON BOB GET A MEETING GOING TO EXPLAIN TO US BUT I WON/T HOLD MY BREATH BECOUSE YOU HAVE NO BOTTLE TO MEET THE RATEPAYERS.
Report abuse
Lets ALL turn up at every sandwell councillors public surgery (details on the councill website)and make our polite and peacefull objection. Do it every week untill they get the message. They have such contempt for us public.
Report abuse