Petition to save The Public after Sandwell College campus move revealed

Dozens of people have already signed the Love Our Public petition after it was announced the iconic £72 million building could be transferred to Sandwell College to save the council £1.5m a year.

It was launched on the same day as the announcement on Thursday, by the managing director of one of the organisations that occupies The Public.

Ro Hands is the boss of LearnPlay Foundation, a not-for-profit company which employs 200 people including 100 young apprentices from the area. She said the organisation's future is now unsure.

"We moved to The Public and West Bromwich solely for the building," she said. "For us it was a real pull, to get our apprentices working alongside national artists and give them experience they wouldn't get anywhere else.

"Following the announcement I was getting calls until 2am from worried staff and parents of the apprentices. I had no idea what was going to happen.

"We've got a massive vested interest staying in The Public and keeping these people in jobs, so the petition was launched.

"I have no idea what will happen to us. I've never had a conversation with the college, I don't know if they would want us out of if there would be an opportunity for us."

The arts centre has been flooded with messages of support since the announcement, and a special Twitter feed has even been set up for people to leave their thoughts, called #SupportThePublic.

Since opening in 2008 The Public has seen steadily increasing visitor numbers, with more than 380,000 in 2012-13, and its millionth visitor expected this June.

A statement on its website says that while Sandwell Arts Trust, the charity which runs The Public, acknowledges talks are taking place, it sees the future of the venue as an arts centre. Andrew Fry, chairman of Sandwell Arts Trust board, said: "We are very aware of the difficult financial choices facing the council at this time. We will continue to operate The Public as normal during these circumstances."