Textile centre needs £5m to survive

12:00pm Monday 3rd December 2007

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ONLY a seven-figure cash boost will save the threatened Textile Conservation Centre (TCC) in Winchester, the Daily Echo has learned.

Earlier this month we revealed that the world-renowned centre at Winchester School of Art would close in 2009 because it costs too much to run.

Should an endowment be offered that will provide sufficient funding to support the TCC on an ongoing annual basis, we would be very pleased to discuss this further.

University statement

Only a £5m endowment would be enough to ensure a long term future, the centre director Nell Hoare has told supporters.

The TCC is run by Southampton University and is the only place in the UK offering postgraduate courses. It is the leading organisation in the world for textile conservation research, education and practice.

Most foreign conservators now receive training in Winchester, bringing revenue into the local economy.

The university has been widely criticised for the closure - as it encouraged the centre to move to Winchester to a purpose-built building in 1999.

One centre campaigner said: "We don't know how the centre has got into debt. I'm not convinced the finances are in as bad a state as we have been led to believe. It is a mystery."

In a statement, the university said: "The university has been looking for some time for an external source of income for the TCC to bridge the funding gap on a permanent basis.

"However, as we have said previously, this has not yet succeeded. Should an endowment be offered that will provide sufficient funding to support the TCC on an ongoing annual basis, we would be very pleased to discuss this further.

"The precise scale of the endowment necessary would obviously depend on any conditions attached to it."

Meanwhile Winchester MP Mark Oaten has tabled a parliamentary question regarding the closure - to ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to ensure the national Textile Conservation Centre will be maintained following the decision to close its Winchester centre.

The question is scheduled for answer tomorrow. An online petition on the 10 Downing Street website already has 2,110 names.