30 March, 2004

A report to St Edmundsbury's Cabinet on 7 April is recommending that the council supports Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery in its present location in the Market Cross.

St Edmundsbury gave £15,000 towards the cost of the ArtGallery's own feasibility study into whether it was viable to move into the Corn Exchange but the Cabinet report states that such a move could cost up to £4million. The ArtGallery has made it clear that the Borough Council would have to fund most of the capital cost of moving to the Corn Exchange. For the Gallery to be able to afford to run a much larger venue it would also need to have its £36,000 annual grant from St Edmundsbury increased.

The report recommends looking at ways of making the Market Cross building accessible to people with disabilities and working with the ArtGallery to develop more partnership working. Help would also be offered to raise the Gallery's profile and undertake more outreach work.

The report notes that the top floor of the Corn Exchange could attract a high rent if used for commercial purposes. An alternative for the ArtGallery, moving to the new public venue on the Cattle Market site, could also mean the council losing potential income-generating facilities such as bars and restaurants.

Cllr Andrew Varley, Cabinet member for Arts and Culture said:

"As guardians of the public purse we have to balance the ambition of the ArtGallery with the aspirations of Council Tax payers. The remarkable designs for the Corn Exchange put forward by the ArtGallery involved the borough council’s being asked for millions of pounds and this simply is not going to happen. We will now look at ways of working together with the Gallery to secure its future in its current prestigious town centre location."

ENDS