20p to Save the Artrix

Much loved Bromsgrove community arts centre, the Artrix, may finally get an 11th hour reprieve after Bromsgrove Lib Dems put forward a positive rescue plan.

The centre has stood empty since it stopped being used by the NHS for Covid vaccines, as there is insufficient funding for it to reopen. Now Bromsgrove Lib Dems have submitted an ambitious alternative budget to Bromsgrove District Council which would reinstate the subsidy needed to get it back on its feet.

District councillors met to discuss the budget for 2023-24 year on February 22. The Conservative budget agreed at cabinet, but not yet approved at council level, offers no subsidy at all for the centre, prolonging uncertainty and heightening the risk of permanent closure. The Lib Dems have submitted an alternative budget which would add an extra 20p a month to the council tax bill of an average household. This would raise £92,000 a year to fund the Artrix, putting its funding back on a sustainable footing and enabling it to reopen.

The Artrix opened in 2005 and was initially subsidised with an annual grant of £120,000 from the district council, which was then reduced to £61,000 a year. Its operator went into administration during the Covid pandemic, and the centre has been unable to reopen because the Conservative controlled district council is now refusing to offer any subsidy at all.

The district council only keeps a small proportion of the overall council tax raised.The Lib Dem alternative budget would increase the district council’s proportion by 1%, which would increase the overall bill by 0.1%. For an average Band D property, this is equivalent to 19.8p per month.Those on the lowest incomes are exempt from paying council tax.

Bromsgrove Arts Alive recently wrote an open letter appealing to the district council to stop prevaricating and ‘rise to the challenge of making positive decisions regarding the reopening of Artrix’.

Councillor Rob Hunter, who leads the Lib Dem Group on the district council, said: “Nobody wants to place more burden on local residents, especially during the cost of living crisis, but we think 20p a month represents the right balance between saving a much loved and widely used community asset, and being fair to hard pressed taxpayers. Unfortunately, it has become painfully clear there is no other way. The Conservatives simply do not have a plan and we all know it’s the last chance saloon for the Artrix. If we don’t act now, we could lose it forever.”

Fellow Lib Dem Councillor, Siobhan Robinson, who represents Bromsgrove Central ward where the Artrix is located, added: “It’s not just about the value of the arts to our community. Anyone who has walked down the High Street recently knows how badly we need to attract new businesses. Reopening the Artrix could be key to increasing footfall, but this can’t happen unless the council steps in to offer support. It’s in everyone’s interests that we turn this sorry situation around.”

The Artrix was on the agenda when the district council met at Parkside on February 22 but both Labour and Conservative councillors voted against the 20p increase in council tax. Following the motion, most of the members of the public in attendance left in disgust.

Disappointed Liberal Democrats commented on their Facebook page after the meeting that “the fight goes on.”