My wholehearted thanks go out to all who signed this petition, which closes today after more than a month at well on the way to 700 signatures. The local arts community has hopefully made a clear statement about the importance of Winns Gallery to us all, and the many comments and complaints about problems booking the space have now been noted by the Council and Greenspace who currently run the booking system.

Below is an update regarding Winns Gallery  kindly provided by Councillor Ros Dore who was very responsive to all the issues raised about access to the gallery, and who has flagged these with the wider Council:

·  There is an ongoing process/discussion at LBWF concerning the future management of Winns Gallery. This includes looking at forging links with William Morris Gallery.

·  A levelling up budget of £4 million offers exciting opportunities for William Morris Gallery, Vestry House Museum and Winns Gallery. The £4.4 million pounds of Levelling Up funding referred to at our meeting is for the revitalisation of Vestry House Museum and is part of the wider LUF that we received…

·  There are definitely no plans to outsource management of any of these facilities to private management. VHM, WMG and Winns Gallery will remain open and owned by the council. In some cases the Council will be looking to collaborate with partner organisations (eg arts groups, charities and Community Interest Companies) in order to maximise the reach and potential of these spaces. This is a model being exploring as part of the VHM Revitalisation project. More information on that process can be found here: https://vestryhousemuseum.org.uk/vestry-house-revitalisation-project/

·  There is every intention to include local artists in consultation processes and to ensure there is unfettered access to Winns Gallery and that the space is properly used going forward. The aim of the piece of work (that the Council is undertaking currently) is to make Winns Gallery as accessible as possible and fulfil the purpose for which it was created. The Destinations team aim to support and encourage our borough’s artist community, particularly those from underrepresented groups and to help provide affordable studio and exhibition space for artists across the whole of Waltham Forest. They will be working with the artistic community on the future of these plans and we hope that there is wide participation in discussions.

·  Councillor Rosalind Dore would welcome any feedback on experience of the Winns Gallery booking process or other issues with the gallery and is happy for her contact details to be passed on.  You can contact her, or copy her in to emails with Winns Gallery if you experience difficulty, at this address: cllr.rosalind.dore@walthamforest.gov.uk 

Please also do feel free to copy me in or email me direct if you have any questions or about your booking experience so I can follow progress in future. Thank you.
johanna_melvin@hotmail.com

Thank you also to everyone who helped with this petition, especially Linda Green.