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A Perfect Storm

A Perfect Storm Picture

Local Government and Culture

The current relationship between culture and local governement is confused and confusing – there is no cultural system, and hence reliable evidence is difficult to come by. But that is no reason to ignore the problem of falling budgets and asset disposals.

Whipping up a perfect storm...

Posted by Samuel Jones at 5:18pm on Tuesday, 6th March 2007
Last year’s Demos report A Perfect Storm? predicted that there would be widespread cases of local authorities cutting back their cultural provision. Since then, Wandsworth has threatened to close Battersea Arts Centre and Walthamstow Museum, the William Morris Museum in Waltham Forest is under threat, Bolton is selling assets, and Southampton is discussing closing part of its museum service.

There does not seem to be anywhere where these examples are being collected, so we thought we would set up this site to record instances of local authority cultural cutbacks, closures and threats to culture - just place any comment below.  Please pass the site address on to anyone who you think will be interested, and post examples when they occur.

Comments

1
Worcestershire County Council, after 10 years of progress and growing its Arts Service to now include arts marketing services and one of the country's best what's on websites, has lost its entire arts team and looks to be wanting cost savings. The Council has not appointed an interim arts officer and the future looks bleak. No one doubts that their  finances are difficult, but culture is so easily cut-able...
Posted by Rob Lines  at 4:30pm on Tuesday, 20th March 2007
2
Dorset CC is cutting back dramatically at the Dorset History Centre, and planning to close one third of its libraries, so much for libraries being protected.
Posted by Pat Poppy  at 12:12pm on Friday, 20th April 2007
3

Southwark Council has axed Livesey Museum for Children. They voted to close it on 20th Feb and it was shut by the 29th. The running costs are only £146k, and they will save very little money by closing it. It looks as if the Council doesn't have the right to sell the building either, which is what they intend to do. We have set up a Friends company/trust and have proposed to run it independently. More information is on http://liveseyfriends.wordpress.com/

Posted by Bridget McKenzie  at 12:00am on Monday, 31st March 2008

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