An Arts Council England (ACE) assessment into how it funded the Public art centre in West Bromwich has concluded that it made “poor judgements” in financing the project despite “explicit misgivings”.
An earlier report by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee criticised ACE’s funding of the Public as a “gross waste of public money”.
The ACE report, carried out by chartered accountant Anthony Blackstock, concluded that ACE ignored its own concerns about funding gaps and the leadership of developers.
“ACE agreed to fund a building that was not fit for purpose,” it read. “It should have judged that this was the case and demanded a radical downscaling in 1999-2000.”
ACE recently announced that it will give £200,000 a year to the Public from 2012 for its visual-arts programme.
An earlier report by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee criticised ACE’s funding of the Public as a “gross waste of public money”.
The ACE report, carried out by chartered accountant Anthony Blackstock, concluded that ACE ignored its own concerns about funding gaps and the leadership of developers.
“ACE agreed to fund a building that was not fit for purpose,” it read. “It should have judged that this was the case and demanded a radical downscaling in 1999-2000.”
ACE recently announced that it will give £200,000 a year to the Public from 2012 for its visual-arts programme.