There is a certain irony to the fact that in the same week the DCMS published Working Together, a document designed to encourage local authorities to utilise the arts as a tool for social regeneration, (p3) a massive community arts project that has not wanted for public or financial support from its local authority should be stalled just a couple of million short of its final build figure (p3). The Public is, sadly, just the latest in a not-so-illustrious list of capital projects which have stumbled including a number that have had the regeneration, social inclusion and diversity agendas at their core. The distinguishing feature of The Publics situation is that the trustees decision to put the brakes on should come before the building is completed rather than, as was the case with Stratford Circus, the Arc in Stockton and a number of others, shortly after opening.
An endeavour like The Public is a huge undertaking for all concerned, and the pressures placed upon arts managers and trustees who have to cope with juggling the finances and logistics of a new-build have long been recognised in the arts sector. By contrast, relatively little recognition is given to the pressures these initiatives place on local authorities, and in particular councillors such as Bob Badham, who champion the cause of the arts through choppy political waters for years to see a capital project through to its opening. For a local authority such as Sandwell, with the responsibilities and demands of an economically deprived area on its hands, supporting The Public will have been a high-risk venture and it needs the organisation to deliver. The inevitable accusations now flying off the pages of the local press, accusing the Council of wasting taxpayers money and demanding explanations, are hugely damaging to the projects future prospects. But just as important, they may also serve as an unfortunate warning to local councillors elsewhere that the cultural regeneration path is a rocky one, and not for the faint-hearted. The support of the DCMS and the arts community for the small number of local authorities, councillors and trustees prepared to champion the arts is vital if they are not to be left with the impression that promoting the arts is simply not worth the hassle.
Liz Hill and Brian Whitehead, Co-editors