10:14am Thursday 1st February 2007
By Sarah Cosgrove
PLANS to close Vestry House Museum and William Morris Gallery during the week and reduce cleaning to save £56,000 met with fury at a packed public meeting.
Queues formed outside Greenleaf Road Baptist Church, Walthamstow, last Thursday, and many people were turned away.
The history and cultural importance of both venues were outlined in a presentation by the chairman of the Friends of William Morris Gallery, Martin Stuchfield.
He outlined plans to make William Morris Gallery in Forest Road disabled friendly and add a visitor's centre and flexible gallery space if the gallery succeeds in bidding for Lottery money.
Local historians told of Vestry House's crucial role as a local museum and archive and spoke of its innovative exhibitions, including the current one about Britain's oldest car, the Bremer which was built in Walthamstow.
The council was accused of short-sightedness, wrong thinking, and lack of imagination, and many doubted that the council would be satisfied until the venues were closed all together.
Adrian Stannard, chairman of the Friends of Lloyd Park, said: "Instead of saying to the gallery, raise money, they just want to close the thing. There's plenty of money sitting in the Lottery pot. All they have got to do is get the bids off the ground. Somehow the culture of the cabinet has to change."
Mr Stuchfield said: "We lost a curator in 2004 through restructuring and since then visitor numbers have fallen. If you don't have a full staff, it is impossible to get people to visit regularly." He said the second curator was about to go on maternity leave and there were no plans to replace her.
The council was warned that the cuts could affect its standing.
Kevin White, who deals in antiques specialising in arts and crafts, warned that it would be embarassing for the council when the news got around within the community But it was the personal experiences of many who used and loved the services which struck a chord with the crowd.
Speakers included Tim Bennett-Goodman of the Waltham Forest Arts Council, and Bill Measure and Neil Houghton, chairmen of two historical societies in the borough.
* Despite the chill in the hall, cabinet member for arts and culture, Naz Sarkar, was obviously feeling the heat as he came under seige.
Standing with his department's top officer, Clive Morton, he took off his jacket and looked increasingly uncomfortable.
Defending his corner he said: "I've been working very, very hard behind the scenes to get some kind of compromise.
But we are going to have to make some really difficult decisions."
Speakers praised him for turning up and listening to what they had to say.
But suggesting that cuts to galleries and museums may not be as important as other proposed budget cuts did not go down so well.
In response, Rev Raymond Draper from Leytonstone Historical Society said: "Don't the councillors understand that one of the key elements in regeneration in any area is the artistic community?
"This isn't just a question of a few people who love the arts, it goes to the heart of the community."
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