West Bromwich arts centre The Public condemned by auditors
A damning report into troubled West Bromwich arts centre The Public has urged councillors to consider “mothballing,” decommissioning or even knocking it down.
Major problems at the controversial £79million arts centre have been highlighted in a report by auditors KPMG.
The firm said the centre, which came in £49million overbudget when it was built, had been “beset with problems” since it was first conceived 15 years ago.
It suggested that Sandwell Council’s current budget of £1.1million for the facility this year may not be enough.
“There is uncertainty as to whether this will be sufficient owing to difficulties in obtaining tenants and determining the costs of operating the facility this year,” it said.
“There must also be uncertainty as to whether £1.1m will be sufficient in 2010/11 and beyond given the continuing economic circumstances.”
It calls on councillors to “urgently seek to secure tenants to deliver appropriate levels of rental income” and develop an independently-validated forward business plan with robust forecasts for tenant and visitor numbers, and income and expenditure.
The possibility of “mothballing” the building if operating it becomes too costly, or even decommissioning or knocking it down if problems persist, was also put forward.
However, it warned that funding bodies could ask for their money back if the council suspends its use of the building or walks away from the project.
“These may result in other funding bodies seeking to claw back grants already paid and as such the authority must ensure that it has certainty of its potential liabilities in such an eventuality,” it said.
