Art gallery avoids closure with new funding deal

A Surrey art gallery will stay open after Woking Borough Council agreed a three-year funding extension.

The Lightbox, which includes Woking Museum and an arts and crafts centre, will now be supported until at least its 20th anniversary in 2027.

The deal, though at a reduced rate, was welcomed by gallery director Sarah Brown, who said it would keep the borough's "valuable asset" afloat.

"The future is bright," she said. "People recognise the value and what we bring to Woking, the economy and culture."

The council had considered cutting all funding, but papers presented to its September executive committee said this would have made the gallery unviable.

Councillor Ellen Nicholson, deputy leader of the council, said: "They really are a valuable resource to have within Woking and they do such good work within our local community."

The Lightbox received £425,000 in 2022/23, but this will fall to £150,000 in 2025/26, reducing by £25,000 each year.

This year's £130,000 grant was funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The new funding was agreed by WBC's executive committee after signing off changes to its 2003 service agreement – one of many discretionary contracts reviewed after the authority's June 2023 bankruptcy.

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