THE art at William Morris Gallery is no longer in danger of being moved to Lambeth after a dramatic policy backtrack.

Negotiations between Waltham Forest Council and Kate Catleugh of the De Morgan Foundation broke down after the council withdrew, saying the move was not in the gallery's interest.

Mrs Catleugh has said that the borough decided to pull out to protect its Heritage Lottery Fund bid for Lloyd Park.

Waltham Forest Council's cabinet member for leisure, arts and culture, Cllr Geraldine Reardon, said: "The council does not feel it is in the gallery's interests to proceed with the proposal in question at this stage.

"In any event the final decision on whether or not to participate in this project would rest with the Brangwyn Gift Trustees and not the council.

"The council remains committed to protecting and safeguarding the collections within William Morris Gallery and encouraging as many people as possible to come and see William Morris' legacy for themselves."

The move follows a hostile response to the proposal at a packed public meeting called by the Friends of William Morris Gallery on October 12.

Mrs Catleugh told the meeting that she said the foundation, which had been negotiating behind closed doors with Waltham Forest Council, was aiming to create a collection of Arts and Crafts objects and memorabilia in central London.

It is trying to buy the Beaufoy Institute in Black Prince Road, Lambeth, at an estimated cost of £25m by January though Mrs Catleugh would not be drawn on how much of this money has been accumulated or where it will come from.

The meeting was told that the foundation would then aim to gather in collections from across London to develop one main Arts and Crafts Museum, with four galleries plus workshops and a cafe.

Mrs Catleugh said at the meeting that it was absolutely essential to the success of the venture that the Waltham Forest collection was given to the new centre on permanent loan.

But many people at the meeting thought the plan would have made it easier for the council to close the gallery.

Cllr Reardon said she wanted to reiterate that it had absolutely no intention of closing William Morris Gallery or of selling the Brangwyn Gift.

For the full story see the Guardian on Thursday.