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Flagship arts centre of the north and recent recipient of a £6.5m Lottery capital investment, Arc in Stockton-on-Tees has closed after failing to attract a rescue package from the Arts Council of England.
The venue, formerly known as the Dovecot Arts Centre, has teetered on the brink since opening in January 1999, and finally declared itself insolvent after last minute attempts to negotiate additional funding from the Arts Council of England failed. Speaking after the announcement that Arc was to cease trading, Northern Arts 'Chief Executive, Andrew Dixon said "We are disappointed that the Board of Arc Trust has been forced to take the company into liquidation. We had hoped the Arts Council would support the Arc entering the stabilisation programme, allowing a solvent liquidation of the Trust. We are urgently looking at how the Arc building might be re-opened in the future as a place for arts education and community arts participation, although this will be a difficult task. " The organisation, which along with 14 other building projects was featured in a damning report by the National Audit Office in May 1999 on the monitoring of Lottery funded capital projects, had been beset by financial problems since before it opened. Whilst poor trading figures are the immediate cause of its latest predicament, the rationale for, and subsequent funding history of Arc is the subject of fierce debate in the region, with many people questioning whether the building should have ever gone ahead, and if so, what a realistic level of revenue subsidy should be. Paul Harman, Artistic Director of Cleveland Theatre Company said "We, like most other professional arts organisations in the region, advised against spending arts Lottery money on a building we knew not enough people would use. We know the region and its needs. Politicians in Newcastle, London and Stockton wanted a 'landmark 'building to be a flagship for the regeneration of Stockton town centre. They refused to admit that most of the cost of running such a big building would have to come from the local council and regional arts funds. "Despite making additional funding available last year, Northern Arts acknowledged that the venue failed to achieve ambitious ticket sales and other income targets. Insolvency practitioners, John B Taylor & Co of Yarm, attended the Arc Board meeting on November 15 at which the decision to cease trading immediately was taken. All staff were laid off immediately, and the venue 's ongoing programme has been cancelled. A meeting of creditors has been set for Monday December 10.