The Public's architect in attack over budget cuts

He is the man responsible for the £72 million pink and black building in West Bromwich known as The Public.

It came in for criticism after it went through major design changes, ran millions of pounds over budget and opened late without all the attractions complete.

Now, Will Alsop has pointed the finger at the Government-funded Arts Council which contributed £31.8m to the project, up from an original allocation of £19m.

Mr Alsop said: "They are more concerned with balancing budgets than backing art. When budgets began to unravel, it was awful. It would be better not to have an Arts Council. Its budget has been cut dramatically.

"When the Arts Council was first founded, its members were committed to art, and it being funded by society for everyone's benefit. That's gone now.

"It would be more democratic to give tax breaks to big companies to fund local art projects and create incentives so they don't all give to the same causes and the money is spread across the country."

World-renowned Mr Alsop spoke as he returned to the venue yesterday to give a talk about architecture, entitled "A Box of Delights", his pet name for The Public.

Mr Alsop also hit back at criticism of the gallery in a damning report last year, which dubbed the project "not fit for purpose".

The report entitled The Public: Lessons learned by Arts Council England by Anthony Blackstock said The Arts Council should have downscaled plans long before it was completed, as budgets spiralled.

Mr Alsop, however, said: "There's nothing wrong with the building. It's a joy to be here. The building is unconventional and it attracts people into it, even if nothing is going on.

"That was always the idea, to attract people into the gallery where they might stay and enjoy an exhibition."

He added visitor numbers had nearly doubled in a year – from 126,000 to 235,000

"It is doing exactly what it was supposed to do," he said.

Arts Council England has announced it will continue to invest in the New Street venue by pumping in £200,000 a year from 2012 until at least 2015.

Council bosses meanwhile continue to keep the business case for The Public under review, as they hope gallery chiefs can increase profits and reduce the £2.29m annual management fee it currently receives from public coffers.

External auditors KPMG warned as early as two years ago the council, which owns the centre, may have to consider mothballing it.

Mr Alsop said public subsidy, in the form of the management fee, should not be cut to the gallery.

He said: "Galleries need cash to be able to plan events in advance. Without cash confirmed, they are unable to plan as well and lose the energy they need to be a success."

Arts Council England has praised Sandwell Arts Trust, which runs The Public, for improving the range of work on show.

Mr Alsop, who first began work on the project in 1997, also revealed he never planned any storage inside the building.

He said the issue "simply never came up in meetings", despite the project being in the pipeline for more than ten years before its 2009 opening. Bosses at the New Street venue however say they use the mezzanine floor for storage, as well as space on the ground, second and third floors, and roof and have not had any problems.

Managing director Linda Saunders said: "Perhaps we are using space in a different way to how he envisaged but it seems to work well for us."

Tom Watson MP for West Bromwich East spoke on Mr Alsop's explanation about storage. He said: "I think people will raise eyebrows at this comment but I think one thing that unites us all is we don't want an extension built."