Campaigners to fight for arts and heritage

A campaign group has been launched to fight cuts to Rochdale’s Arts and Heritage service.

The group, named the Touchstones Challenge, has been established by concerned residents who are worried about the council cuts.

The group says they have no faith in the management of Link4Life and are urging them to think again about the cuts that are facing the arts and heritage services.

From 2011 to 2012, they say Link4Life is looking to cut £264,000 from Arts and Heritage and £138,000 from Sports and Leisure services.

Debbie Firth who has set up the group, said: “We are the people of Rochdale and we’re good and angry at the crass and callous way the Arts and Heritage services of our town are being unfairly targeted by Link4Life with deep and savage cuts that will result in permanent and irreversible damage.

“The management of Link4Life don’t understand, don’t appreciate and frankly don’t seem to care about our town’s unique cultural and social history. They know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Certainly not the value we place on our town.”

She continued: “We’re proud of our heritage and we do care – and we’re blazing mad.

“But we are also realists. We accept that cuts have to be made. We do not accept the blatantly unfair and unequal way they have been imposed by placing a disproportionate burden on Arts and Heritage provision.

“Example, in their report to the council the management of Link4Life propose cuts to the much bigger sport and leisure budget of £138,000 – while cuts to the ‘poor relation’ arts and heritage services are a staggering £430,000. Yes, three times greater.

“To put it bluntly, we have no faith that the management of Link4Life has the best interests of Rochdale’s arts and heritage at heart. Their priorities lie elsewhere.”

Ms Firth is urging the people of Rochdale to stand up and be heard.

She concluded: “It’s the essential conservation of your town’s proud history that’s at stake – and also the guardianship of its future. Don’t let it down. More importantly, don’t let yourselves, your town, or your children and grandchildren down.”

Peter Kilkenny, Deputy Managing Director, Link4Life, said: “We appreciate the passion that people have in this borough for Arts and Heritage. The Board of voluntary trustees, management, and staff share that same pride and commitment to these services.

“Since Link4Life was established in April 2007 it has consistently worked to improve cultural services in the borough. It has been a success story that has seen a real expansion in services, improved facilities and new job opportunities. It has also provided significant year on year savings for the Council.

“Link4Life’s commitment to Arts and Heritage can be seen from what has been achieved since 2007 - investment in building improvements at Touchstones Rochdale and at the new auditorium at Middleton Arena, the expansion of the outreach programme boroughwide, support for community activities, award winning exhibitions, national quality registration, new staff, with more people accessing Arts and Heritage than ever before.

“As a not-for profit social enterprise, Link4Life balances its responsibility to ensure it can deliver centre-based activities, as at Touchstones, and also engage with new and hard to reach audiences through its outreach programmes.

“These programmes have provided volunteer work experience for over 400 young people and paid employment for around 30 more. They have increased participation opportunities for children, adults and for young people with disabilities. The difference that has been made to local people’s lives has been significant – learning new skills, and passing on traditional skills to a new generation, meeting new people, exploring new cultures, expressing their own creativity and enjoying the creativity of others, feeling healthier and happier in their everyday lives.

“Then a year ago – the national spending review.

“Along with many trusts and councils throughout the country, since 2010 we have had to face large cuts in our budget to contribute to the Council’s overall efficiency programme. Because of the way the Council receives its funding a big proportion of the loss of funding is in 2011/12. The target for savings has risen from £50 million to £64 million - and the Council has made it clear that a further £82 million must be found over the next two years.

“Link4Life remains determined to support the Council in its drive to make these savings – and difficult choices must be made. The total savings that Link4Life will be providing to the Council by March 2012 will total more than £1 million. This is a reduction of around 20% in the annual management fee received from the Council. Around one-third of these savings will be made by Arts and Heritage. The other two-thirds will come from other areas of Link4Life – Sport and Leisure, Sports Development, Management and Support Services.

“The savings proposals required from arts and heritage in Phase 3 of the efficiency programme are out to consultation until Wednesday 1 June. All staff who are directly affected have been briefed on these proposals. Only after 1 June will final discussions and decisions be made by the Council and the Board of trustees.

“In meeting these savings our priority will remain as always to continue to deliver a quality arts and heritage service. To continue to care for, conserve and document the borough’s valued collections. To continue to provide education support for children and schools. To continue to provide an exhibition and activity programme that can be accessed by local people and visitors. To continue to support other arts and heritage providers in the borough. To continue to provide a tourism information service borough-wide. To continue to provide access to the borough collections and archives for individual research. We are working now on a summer programme of children’s activities for Touchstones Rochdale and the 2011/12 education programme for schools.

“We hope that the residents of the borough will continue to support arts and heritage, value its contribution, continue to visit Touchstones Rochdale and continue to benefit from the services that are available to them. The Trust will continue to work to secure its future as we continue to deliver cultural services across the borough in these challenging times.”

To find out more about Touchstones Challenge and register your support email: debbiefirth@hotmail.com.