Last day looms for West Bromwich arts centre The Public
The end was today looming for The Public as final events were being staged ready for the arts centre to close its doors for good.
Visitors were taking their last chance to visit the landmark West Bromwich attraction as the final countdown gets under way ahead of the venue shutting tomorrow.
Doors will close at the New Street centre at 11pm after an evening of music to mark the end of a celebration day of events being held tomorrow.
The £72 million site, which opened under a storm of controversy in 2008, is being taken over and transformed into a sixth form by Sandwell College and is due to open in September 2014. Part of the building will also be used for arts and business support.
The centre is being transformed after Sandwell Council pulled its annual £1.6m subsidy.
Council leader Darren Cooper said today: "We are spending in excess of £1.6 million per year, which is the equivalent of £30,000 a week.
"That equates to 25 social workers, or 70 litter pickers. I'm tasked as leader to provide services to local people.
"The fact the numbers going to The Public are increasing doesn't ring the cash register, and we would have had to continue to subsidise the facility – I wasn't prepared to do that.
"We have come up with a deal that will give a state-of-the-art centre for our sixth formers, and I think our young people deserve a place of excellence to get their education. We have put it on a firm financial footing for the future at much less cost to local taxpayers."
Peter Knott, area director of Arts Council England said the closure of The Public was a loss to the region's arts provision.
He said: "The closure of an arts facility like The Public, even on a temporary basis, does mean that there is less arts provision and less opportunity for people to engage with arts and culture locally.
"We recognise that Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council faced some extremely difficult decisions in the current economic climate and have attempted to try and find the best outcome they could within the resources they have available.
"Whilst we are sorry that Sandwell Arts Trust, the body that ran The Public, couldn't continue with the excellent progress they were making with the building it should be recognised that the college and council have committed to a public facing arts and culture programme going forward and that the building will be part of developing the next generation of creatively engaged young people."
