BURY Arts and Crafts Centre could become the "preserve of the elite" rather than a facility for the wider public.

That is one of the fears of the centre's management committee following a Bury Council-commissioned report into the future of the Broad Street centre.

The threat of closure has hung over the building for ten years and as much as £1 million may be needed to keep it going.

Although council leader Derek Boden has given an assurance that the building itself is not at risk, he has said a lot of the building would have to be put to alternative uses in order to maximise resources.

The report has mooted the idea of bringing commercial activities into the building. Town hall bosses have already earmarked £150,000 of European cash to help transform the centre into a more commercial enterprise. If approved, nine workshops for "cultural and creative activities" would be built and staff employed to provide business advice and manage the centre.

But the committee say this would "effectively diminish" access to courses and the centre, turning it into the preserve of the elite.

As an alternative, it suggests making use of redundant buildings in Bury's cultural quarter route, such as the former Napier Pub and Lloyds Bank building. It said such buildings would be likely to attract external grants. The committee also wants responsibility for the building and its classes and courses to be taken over by a charitable body. A group of professionals within the committee have already volunteered to serve as Trustees of the charity.

Ideally it wants the council to give the building to the charity, or lease it at a peppercorn rent. Grant aid would be sought and the council would be asked to cover all costs for the first year, an arrangement that would diminish in following years resulting ultimately in the charity taking over all financial responsibility.

It is estimated that £500,000 would be needed to address health and safety issues and provide disabled access to the building. The committee argues that a charity would be more likely to receive external funding than the council.

The suggestion that some of the classes offered at the centre could be relocated elsewhere in the borough has also come in for criticism.

The committee reasons that the current site is central and therefore conveniently located to serve people of all ages and circumstances from across the borough.

The committee is also unhappy with the report's suggestion that the centre be managed by a third party such as the Met's Board of Management.

It reiterated the idea of a properly constituted charitable body specifically established for the sole purpose of running the building and educational programmes.

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