DLWP facing budget cut of up to £70,000

One of the building's main funding bodies, Arts Council England (ACE), took a 23 million cut from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in June, and has been told by the Treasury to prepare for up to 30 per cent reductions over the next four years.

In turn, ACE has asked the 17 organisations it regularly funds in Sussex, including the De La Warr Pavilion, to plan for an annual reduction of 10 per cent in their grant.

Sally Ann Lycett, head of communications at the building, would not comment on the possibility of redundancies. She said: "Until the Pavilion knows the full extent of the government's spending review and its impact upon the arts we, like many other organisations, must prepare contingency scenarios in the event of reductions to our funding."

After the 23 million cut announced in June, Arts Council England took an initial 0.5 per cent from the 2010/11 income of every arts organisation it funds, costing the Pavilion 2,837.

But this new move from an organisation which privately admits it faces the prospect of dropping some organsations from its funding list altogether signals far heavier cuts to the Pavilion for the 2011/12 financial year.

At the Pavilion's most recent scrutiny meeting with Rother District Council - which contributes around 550,000 a year to the building's upkeep - annual reports said ACE gave 700,552 to the Pavilion in 2009/10.

Their confirmed grant for 2010/11 is 567,471, so though the 2011/12 settlement is not yet known, Pavilion staff will be budgeting for a loss of anything between 57,000-70,000.

The exact depth of the cut will be known after ACE discovers how it is affected by the government settlement published on October 20.

A spokesperson for Arts Council England said they were braced for losses of 25-30 per cent.

"As part of our planning process the Arts Council has asked all its funded organisations to plan for a 10 per cent cut in their funding for 2011-12," she said.

"But these numbers are not set in stone, and we are working hard to make the case to government about the fantastic value for money public investment in the arts represents.

"The De La Warr delivers a world class arts experience at the heart of a local community and brings more than 16 million a year into the regional economy."