Crunch talks with Arts Council fail to find solution to save Coliseum Theatre

Crunch talks aimed at saving Oldham’s Coliseum theatre and protecting dozens of jobs have ended in stalemate but campaigners say the fight ‘isn’t over’.

The performance union Equity met with Arts Council England representatives at their office in Manchester on Thursday afternoon with the hope of finding a solution to the funding crisis facing the theatre company, and the 70 people employed there facing redundancy.

It comes as the Coliseum Theatre is due to close its doors permanently on March 31, after being dropped from the Arts Council funding portfolio in November.

A public meeting at the Fairbottom Street theatre in February saw 400 people turn out to support the Oldham venue. Last month Oldham council also agreed to ‘recommit’ to the development of a replacement new theatre in the borough – but which wouldn’t open until 2026.

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Councillors also formally accepted £1.84m of Arts Council England (ACE) funding to provide cultural activity for the next three years. The Coliseum had been removed from ACE’s funding portfolio after the organisation deemed it ‘high risk’ and raised concerns about the theatre’s financial management, leadership and governance.

However outside the offices on Lever Street in Manchester, following talks with the arts body, general secretary of Equity Paul Fleming said: “We’re disappointed with the decision, we’re disappointed with the strategy, we’re disappointed with the structure of the Arts Council and we’re disappointed with their policies and proposals.

“Culture funding should be regionalised and put into the hands of the communities and the artists who make it, not in the