A Big Ask In Tough Times: Arts Centre Seeks A $18 to $25 million Council Lifeline

The NZR looks carefully at Arts Centre Director Philip Aldridge's claim the council will "defund" it and provides the full history of the Council's funding since 2013.

The Arts Centre has asked the Christchurch City Council for a $18 to $25 million lifeline to prevent it going into insolvency. A council insider says a council briefing on the city landmark was meant to happen yesterday, as uncertainty circles over the head of the once thriving cultural site, with the centre saying that the “biggest challenge is skyrocketing insurance on heritage buildings–up 1000% since the earthquakes.”

“In total this is $8.94M of ratepayer funded support for both capital works and operational costs for The Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora over the past ten years with $220k allocated for the next two years.”

The Christchurch City Council’s spend on The Arts Centre over the past decade and beyond.

“The Council is not proposing to withdraw any funding.  Ratepayer funding, previously agreed with the Arts Centre in June 2021, is scheduled to end in June 2024 and there has never been any commitment by Council to extend this.  The Arts Centre understand this.”

CCC statement

The Arts Centre and Aldridge have raised the stakes by insisting that without funding “This will put the Trust on a path to insolvency and it will be legally obliged to start winding up from July.”

These statements come after the Centre Director, Philip Aldridge, said mayor Phil Mauger had told him The Arts Centre would be defunded and a similar claim surfacing in The Press that no funding had been included in the city’s draft 2024-2034 Long Term plan.

In a fundraising email provided to the NZR, the trust said it has asked for funding “at the same level as over the past three years, average $1.8 million per year.” Over ten years that equates to $18 million dollars.

But the Council has confirmed that much more has been asked for.