Lib Dems Attack Savage Tory Plan to Scrap ADEC (South East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats)

South East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats <info@secambslibdems.org.uk>

Lib Dems Attack Savage Tory Plan to Scrap ADEC

January 18, 2010 6:19 PM

Furious Liberal Democrats have attacked savage Tory cuts which will shut down arts provider ADEC.

They claim the move to slash the grant for Arts Development East Cambridgeshire and bring the service in-house is "short sighted and ill-thought out".

It will mean that Ely's cinema will no longer be run by ADEC but handed over to the management of The Maltings, although no consultation has taken place. The plans would save £25,000 in the next year.

Lib Dem spokesperson on community services, Councillor Pauline Wilson said: "This is absolute madness.

"Scrapping ADEC will save the taxpayer the equivalent of less than one pence a week. But the damage that will be done to arts provision in East Cambridgeshire will far outweigh the potential savings. This is short sighted and ill-thought out by an administration which has been determined to shut down ADEC over the years."

At the same time, the Tory-run East Cambridgeshire District Council has just advertised a lucrative £100,000 contract for Ely's planned country park.

Cllr Wilson added: "On the one hand, the Tories are planning to spend thousands of pounds creating a new country park while on the other they can't even manage the expenditure on what is already in place.

"ADEC was set up because the previous in-house service was so ineffectual. Now we are planning to revert to a similar service and will lose the excellent team of volunteers that ADEC has built up. We will see considerably reduced arts provision across the district. This cannot be allowed to happen."

Over the years, ADEC has provided financial support for hundreds of events, arranging visits to the area by professional musicians, theatre and dance companies and run the Ely cinema. It has also provided film projection equipment for use in village halls and provided expertise to support local promoters such as the Haddenham Autumn Theatre group.

The plans to terminate its contract with the council will be discussed by members of East Cambridgeshire District Council's community services committee on Thursday and residents and organisations have been urged to lobby Lib Dem councillors with their concerns.