County council throws Swan £27,000 lifeline

The handout, due to be officially announced later today, increases the pressure on Worcester City Council to reverse a controversial decision to slash its own funding to the popular playhouse.

The heat was expected to be turned up even further by Worcester MP Mike Foster in a Westminster debate this afternoon.

Mr Foster was due to: "It is increasingly clear it is now the city council which holds the future of the Swan in its hands."

The crisis at the Swan began when a report by independent consultants stated the theatre would need an extra £77,000 per year.

West Midlands Arts pledged to provide £50,000 of this sum, and the Swan asked the city council to find the remainder.

The Tory-run city council turned down the request - and then revealed it was planning to cut the funding it already provided to the Swan, placing it under immediate threat of closure.

The county's pledge of £27,000 means the Swan now has, on paper,

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the extra £77,000 it was originally seeking.

If the Conservative-run city council - which is no longer being asked to provide additional cash - restores its original grant, the theatre will be saved.

Mr Foster added: "If the city council continues to provide its existing funding, the Swan will survive - it is as simple as that."

Mid Worcestershire MP Peter Luff, who will also speak in the 30-minute debate, said: "I am beginning to come under very real pressure from my own constituents to see the Swan reprieved.

"It is not just a city theatre. It serves the whole of Worcestershire. It must be saved in one form or another>"

Culture Minister Kim Howells is expected to respond for the Government at the end of the debate.

The Swan's plight is due to be discussed by city councillors at a special meeting of the community services policy and review committee next week.

A huge public turnout is also expected at the talks, due to be staged at 7.30pm next Monday, at the Guildhall.