UNDER-FUNDED grassroots groups are shouldering a greater role in Croydon's arts scene with the council saying it has been pushed into a lesser part by Government funding cuts.
The arts in Croydon have taken a battering in recent years, with the controversial closure of some theatres, outsourcing of the libraries, the Riesco antique porcelain collection sold off, and the Mela summer festival shut down.
The councillor in charge of culture for the authority says savage Government funding cuts have forced the authority to take a less direct role in the arts – something he does not altogether think is a bad thing.
Cllr Tim Pollard said the council will be operating next year with "about 65 per cent of the real-term funding that we had in 2010," forcing huge cuts to non-statutory services such as arts.
He continued: "Our strategy over the previous four years or so has been to say instead of providing a lot of small scale cultural events, we will move to being an enabler.
"What it means is quite a lot of things do go on which the community drives. The council provides the glue which holds it together."
He continued: "Would I prefer to be spending large sums of public money directly providing culture? I am not sure that I would."
The authority is, however, investing £33 million in Fairfield Halls, the borough's main theatre and concert hall, a decision Cllr Pollard defended, saying the venue could not stay open without revamping its 1960s' building.
"He added the refurbishment would help improve the centre's programme, by making it more viable and attractive for big touring productions and bands. A thriving Fairfield Halls is also something wanted by developers, he said, in particular the Westfield/Hammerson partnership set to build a £1 billion shopping mall in the town centre.
The Advertiser understands those developers are interested in sponsoring three of the borough's cultural big-hitters: Crystal Palace Football Club, Fairfield Halls and the Brit School.
How much of their investment will help smaller groups remains to be seen, with many of those calling for the council to provide more strategic direction over the arts, if not actual money.
Charlotte Davies, co-founder of the new Croydon Arts Network, working to promote arts, music and theatre, said: "We have a very young population and therefore we should be buzzing not just in Tech City and entrepreneurial, but also in arts terms.
"It [the council] really needs to think and talk to people and it may not be something as tangible as giving a lot of money but maybe something like doing some market research, maybe supporting another Mela festival.
"The thing we most need is strategy."
The council has recently decided to refurbish and reopen the David Lean Cinema, following a campaign by the Save the David Lean Cinema group after it was closed in 2011 by the local authority to save money.
Richard Lloyd, who runs the Coulsdon Theatre Workshop, a highly regarded and long-running amateur dramatics group, echoed the call for strategy, emphasising the importance of the borough having a rich cultural life.
He said "The distance between seeing something as not essential and as unimportant is large.
"People's quality of life is more than just eating and drinking and going to work and driving around.
"Human expression and emotion and feeling like a successful part of society, and being entertained and providing entertainment, is part of the human condition."
Labour has said that, if elected in May, it would hold a conference on the arts before the summer break, and create a cabinet position dedicated to culture.
Shadow culture spokesman Timothy Godfrey, a member of the board of Fairfield Halls, claimed the council wasted money on back office and other costs, but deemed spending on Fairfield a "grown-up approach".
'WE HAD TO MOVE TO SUTTON'
The director of Exit Theatre Group says his theatre now has to perform in Sutton since the closure of the Braithwaite Hall at the Croydon Clocktower in 2011.
David Trotter said Fairfield Halls is too expensive for his company's productions and there is no appropriate alternative in Croydon.
Founded in 2001, the company performs between two to three plays per year, all of which are new and created by them.
Mr Trotter said: "We do find it sad, we feel like we have been forced into a position where we are no longer able to perform in Croydon. It is a shame.
"It kind of makes it look as if Croydon does not have [good cultural groups]; we do, it is just that we are going elsewhere. Audience feedback in Sutton shows at least half the audience is from Croydon."
He added he was "very grateful" to local pubs that let them rehearse for free.
The group's next production, Cash Cow, runs at the Charles Cryer Studio Theatre, in Sutton, from Wednesday April 30 until Saturday May 3.
