Help us save Creed Street Theatre & Arts Centre by signing this petition.

In October 2013 The Creed Street Theatre and Arts Centre was closed with no warning and no information as to why the closure took place. Creed Street Friends was formed in October 2013 following this closure. An initial meeting was set up to invite the trustees to share information and community support was offered to help the charity's doors to remain open. Many local residents and users attended to demonstrate their support and offer any help that was needed. However, not one of the trustees attended this meeting and no apologies were given which raised serious concerns about the motives for the closure .

A campaign was then launched to try to persuade the trustees to practice in an open and transparent manner in line with their roles and responsibilities as trustees. They were requested to hold their Annual General Meeting which  was overdue and by law should have been held by April 2013.

The trustees were specifically asked that the meeting be made public and open to membership to attend. The trustees promised to announce the AGM, but instead held the meeting in secret with only the five trustees present. The trustees failed to notify or invite other members. Again this raised serious concerns about ethical practice of trustees in their positions of trust.

The trustees have  since been offered various lifelines of help but these were either ignored or declined. Most importantly, Wolverton and Greenley's Town Council stepped in to help but again were refused any open dialogue as the trustees remained silent. They refused to attend meetings that were arranged to support them with the charity's upkeep.

Alarmingly, the trustees have gone directly against the council's offers of support and have put the theatre up for sale on the open market.

This shows that even if the charity itself did not want the building, the trustees have not allowed the council any time to ensure that the building remained a community asset as the building was put up for sale to any takers, commercial and private included. This is a crucial point and demonstrates the trustees complete disregard for the importance of the building to the community that once enjoyed it. If the sale goes ahead the building will be lost to a private commercial enterprise and you will no longer have  access to grassroots art projects. This cultural hub, the only fringe venue in Milton Keynes, will be gone for good if the sale proceeds. Creed Street Theatre and Arts Centre is a special and rare place that draws communities together and allows creativity and new ideas to flourish. The five current  trustees have made it abundantly clear they are not interested in managing this fantastic theatre or even allowing it to remain in the communities possession,they just want to sell it off. This does not promote the ethos of the charity they represent in any way .

We, the undersigned:

We want to save the charity and the building that is integral to its success.

We want the current trustees to stand down as they have directly, and without recourse, jeopardised the future of this community asset by offering the building that belongs to the community for sale.

We strongly recommend that The Charity Commission support this petition and ensure that the current board either resign or are removed from post.

A new trustee board will be elected by these new members to ensure Creed Street Theatre and Arts Centre reaches its true potential... A thriving community focused charity that provides and promotes the arts from the beautiful building that inspires creativity and community solidarity.  

Thank you so much for your support. Please join us on the Facebook page to join the community of Creed Street Friends and get updates on progress.

We are also very grateful to Wolverton & Greenleys Town Council for stepping in and agreeing funding and support to maintain the charity and its building.

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Various documents and updates etc are available on our website www.creedstreetartscentrefriendssupportgroup.org.uk/

You may contact us by email at campaign@creedstreetartscentrefriendssupportgroup.org.uk