Campaigners in battle to protect arts centre
APETITION has been launched over fears a Victorian arts centre dubbed a “jewel in the crown” could be lost for good.
Netherton Arts Centre, built in the late 1800s, has been shut for two years.
Netherton, Woodside & St Andrew’s ward Cllr Elaine Taylor started the petition after a meeting with council officers over the
Northfield Road site’s future left her feeling “sceptical”. That is despite Dudley Council’s cabinet commercial boss, Cllr Shaun Keasey, laying out plans to bring the centre back into use just before Christmas.
Cllr Taylor said she feared the arts centre would go the same way as Dudley’s landmark Hippodrome, which is set for demolition despite a fierce campaign from activists to save the Art Deco-styled building. She said Netherton Arts Centre was the only “purpose-built theatre” in the Dudley borough. In her petition, she claimed the Conservative-led administration “was threatening” to close the “beautiful, locally-listed Victorian building” that held a “prominent position” in Netherton. Cllr Keasey denied this tothe Post and said the local authority was looking at ways to reopen the centre.
Cllr Taylor said a meeting took place with herself, fellow ward councillors, council officers and Cllr Keasey last week where a presentation took place about “where the arts centre was at that time”.
She said: “They spent more time, in my view, more effort, telling us the worst possible scenario which was to close it and find an outside source for it.
“They weren’t actively, in my mind, seeking to secure new users for the building. Back in 2019, I had already raised these concerns with the managers of the arts centre at that point. Alongside me, they were concerned with the lack of support from the chief officers to actually look and seek out a plan to sustain this building.
“Netherton Arts Centre is unique to Dudley, it is the only purpose-built theatre in Dudley now. The council has a habit where it leaves a building for so long, doesn’t do any maintenance on it, doesn’t seek to find a solution to find more users for it and then it becomes no longer viable to actually do the work that is needed.”
Cllr Keasey denied he or the local authority was looking to close the site for good. He said: “If we can get it reopened and rejuvenated, we want it to be something that is long-term and self-sustained.
“To be clear, we have made no decision to permanently close Netherton Arts Centre. We’ve said in recent months that we are looking at options to breathe new life into the building and I can assure residents that this is still the case.”