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A pledge by Welsh Culture Minister, Alun Pugh, to earmark £250,000 towards the development of a new theatre and cultural centre for Merthyr Tydfil, and a further £250,000 to support the development of English language theatre in Wales, has met with a storm of protest by Welsh politicians. The announcement was made shortly after opposition parties refused to support a £14bn 2007/08 spending plan for Wales, which would have given the arts an extra £1.6m next year, and the Minister has been criticised for trying to spend next years money before a budget has been approved by the Assembly. The timing of the announcement has also been questioned on the grounds that the ongoing independent review of arts funding in Wales, and the future role of the Arts Council of Wales (ACW), is not scheduled to report until later this month. ACWs own budget and capital strategy are not due to be finalised until after the review findings are published, but ACW has nominally allocated £6m to the arts regeneration project in Merthyr Tydfil, where recent research revealed that a lack of local cultural facilities was a significant deterrent to arts attendance and participation in the town. Three other major stakeholders, the Heads of the Valleys Partnership, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council and the University of Glamorgan, are also supporting the project, which is likely to include spaces for creative businesses and artists as well as a theatre and gallery. The total project cost is currently estimated at around £13m.
News of the Ministers plans for additional financial support for its English Language Theatre proposals, including the establishment of a non-building based national theatre, has been warmly welcomed by ACW. The new funding would be used in the process of establishing a new company, and parallels have been drawn with the recent creation of the National Theatre of Scotland. Cash would also be allocated to tour the large-scale productions of Clwyd Theatr Cymru, and to establish a base for the Wales Theatre Company. Revenue funding would be allocated to support the new production company formed from the merger of Sgript Cymru and the Sherman Theatre Company, and the Torch Theatre, Volcano Theatre Company and Hijinx Theatre Company would all be funded to expand their touring work. Michael Bogdanov, Artistic Director of the Wales Theatre Company, said, English language theatre in Wales has existed for too long on project by project funding and a hand to mouth existence& This additional investment would be a positive step towards realising a vision for year-round, high quality English language theatre made in Wales for Welsh audiences and the world.