Sara Britcliffe, Member of Parliament for Hyndburn and Haslingden, has queried the liquidation of Hyndburn Arts Ltd, the parent company which ran the Civic Arts Centre and Theatre in Oswaldtwislte. The MP has written to the Chief Executive of Hyndburn Borough Council about the closure of the Civic, the contents of which are below.
As a local MP, born and raised in Oswaldtwistle, Ms Britcliffe previously performed at the Civic and is now committed to working with interested parties to try and ensure it can continue operating.
The letter stated:
Dear David,
I am writing to you about the liquidation of Hyndburn Arts Ltd, the parent company for the Civic Arts Centre and Theatre. I was made aware of this situation yesterday, and many concerned constituents have since made representations to me.
Arts & culture is extremely important, especially in local areas where there is underrepresentation like Hyndburn and Haslingden. This has been recognised in recent years, especially during the pandemic, when Hyndburn Arts Limited was provided with £102,000 from the Culture Recovery Grant.
Considering this, I would be grateful if Hyndburn Council could confirm the following for me:
- It has been alleged that Hyndburn Arts Ltd has lost £45k of funding from Hyndburn Borough Council events in the last year, please can this be clarified?
- There have been claims that Hyndburn Borough Council have not included Hyndburn Arts Ltd in Arts and Culture Funding – and not allocated any funding to the organisation. Please can you clarify whether
- There are any bids in process
- Dates bids were open, if not still open and,
- were Hyndburn Arts Ltd part of the bidding process
- I would be grateful if Hyndburn Borough Council could inform me of their position as to when they received notice that Hyndburn Arts Ltd were in their current financial situation
- It would be useful if the council could clarify any support provided over the years to Hyndburn Arts Ltd.
I would be grateful if you could clarify these points as soon as possible. As someone who grew up in Oswaldtwistle, my theatre life started at the Civic Arts Centre and Theatre when I performed in Sparks. I know what the Civic means to the community not just in Oswaldtwistle, but across Hyndburn and Haslingden.
Going forward will Hyndburn Borough Council confirm it will work with me to do everything possible to ensure the Civic Arts Centre and Theatre can continue to provide a rich cultural experience to our communities.
I look forward to your response.
Sara Britcliffe
Member of Parliament for Hyndburn and Haslingden
The MP is now committed to keeping her constituents updated on any response.
