Some of the most prestigious cultural grand projects’ funding in Britain is in jeopardy as a £100m black hole has been discovered in the budgets of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Whitehall source revealed, according to the Guardian.
These funding are designed to help iconic locations such as the British Museum, Tate Modern, Stonehenge, and London’t South Bank Centre to improve its facilities.
However, these ambitious plans are at risk as the government discloses the DCMS’s overspending on its budget, the AFP reports.
The shortfall has emerged in the capital budget for the financial years 2009-10 and 2010-11, said the Guardian.
Senior arts sources called the funding crisis “quite astonishing”. One source said in the Guardian: “It’s hopeless management. Everyone will blame the DCMS for being hopeless, and they are fairly hopeless, so it’s not unjustified.”
Another source in the Guardian said: “Financial director of interested bodies received a letter saying they were £100m overspent on capital and seeking contributions from unspent capital money.”
The DCMS refused to comment on why it had overspent the amount of money designed to fund the major art projects.
Nevertheless, according to the Guardian, the issue was noted several weeks ago and was addressed by ministers.
A DCMS spokesperson said: “Our capital budget is currently overcommitted. Ministers are examining the reasons for this and looking for solutions. It is possible that difficult decisions will be needed, but none has been taken yet.”
Then another senior arts source said: “They will solve it by scrabbling around, and delaying things here and there. But my goodness, it’s no way to run a railroad.”
However, the Guardian said if critical funding was held up to get the DCMS out of financial trouble, major projects may be mothballed.
Guardian reports the Tate Modern’s redevelopment would increase the size of the gallery by 60%. It is supposed to receive a £50m one-off grant from the government towards its £ 215 budget.
The redevelopment of Tate Modern will “act as a firm symbol of the government’s commitment to this amazing project,” said former culture secretary James Purnell in 2007.
At the time, the plan had been to open the new Tate building in time for the London Olympics in 2012, which has been described as the most important new building for culture in Britain since the British Library in 1998 and the Barbican Centre in 1982, said the Guardian.
Charlotte Higgins, chief arts writer wrote on the Guardian, approximately a third of the required funding is in place, but the £50m from the government is now under review, like all the other capital projects, because of the problems of the DCMS.
The government funding forms the bedrock on which private funds can be raised as well, but in the current economic climate, it is increasingly difficult to raise private funds.
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