The Vault Arts Centre in Newton Stewart will shut its doors.
A charity-run venue in the South of Scotland will close its doors next week as it becomes the latest victim to the funding crisis facing voluntary groups across the country.
The Vault Arts Centre in Newton Stewart announced last week that it is to close its doors following the end of the Easter break next week.
The centre is a social enterprise project created, managed, and run by Scottish charity the Trad Music Trust.
The charity, which supports dozens of young people through their projects and youth work in the area, said “a combination of unsuccessful funding applications and increasing costs” had led to the decision.
In a statement, the project said that a number of attempts to raise funds to continue their work had been unsuccessful.
The Vaults Arts Centre opened in late 2019 in a former bank premises in Newton Stewart, and supported one full-time employee, as well as four part-time members of staff, alongside 125 casual workers.
A final deferred application had been the final straw for those behind the social enterprise project, the charity confirmed.
They wrote: “With over 32 young members who attend weekly sessions at The Vault Arts Centre, the youth work and youth projects are fantastic for young people in the region, but a combination of unsuccessful funding applications and increasing costs have forced the Trust, with heavy hearts, to close the project.
"The Trust has not received any funding for The Vault Arts Centre since December 2021, but continued to support young people in the region by offering a welcoming, safe, venue where they could meet like-minded young people, use the professional musical instruments, PA system and lighting, play Warhammer/Games or just get out and socialise with others.
“Funding applications in December 2022 to The Robertson Trust, Bank of Scotland REACH Programme and Ross and Liddell were all unsuccessful and the one successful application, to the William Syson Foundation, achieved less than half of what was applied for.
“The charity's application to the Kilgallioch Community Fund, which we heard back on today, has been deferred until June, subject to submission of further information to support that application, and that has been a major factor in the Trust's decision to close the TVYP group.
“We're sure that many of you will be shocked by this news, not least the fantastic young people who attend the project, but we're also sure that you will appreciate our position.
“It is heart-breaking that such a successful youth project that supports so many young people in the region cannot attract funding support, particularly during this post-Covid and cost of living crisis period in everyone's lives, but unfortunately these are the realities that community-led projects like ours are having to face.”
