Composer and musical theatre impresario Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has added his voice to the chorus of opposition to cutting arts funding in Suffolk branding council chiefs as 'short-sighted'.
Suffolk County Council is set to end its support for the arts and museums, as well as closing two of its three record offices and putting tax bills up by a maximum 5%, in the spring.
Speaking to the BBC's Politics East, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, the composer behind iconic productions including The Phantom of the Opera and Cats, said the move to end arts funding would impact towns and cause problems for businesses.
"What theatre brings to, say, a town is extraordinary, so if you are talking about cutting grants to the theatres you have just mentioned you are also cutting a load of potential business in the towns themselves," he said.
"There's a whole ecosystem around theatres. Its not just theatre itself it is the restaurants, it's everybody from the local laundry even. It's an extraordinary thing that theatre has tentacles that reach out really everywhere.
"Any arts cut of that kind is extremely short-sighted because it tends to mean that city centres become even emptier than they are now.
"It makes one almost sort of despair," he added.
During the programme he also urged the government to support music teaching in schools.
Sir Andrew is the latest high profile figure from the arts world to voice his opposition to stop core funding of arts and museums in Suffolk which has caused dismay across the county.
Dame Judi Dench, who is patron of the Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, West End star Kerry Ellis, soprano Laura Wright, a former pupil at Framlingham College who grew up in Suffolk, and comedy writer Jan Etherington have all spoken out against the cuts.
A shared statement was released from DanceEast, Eastern Angles Theatre Company, First Light Festival, The New Wolsey Theatre, Primadonna Festival, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, and Suffolk Artlink.
It said: "While will need some time to consider the full impact of these proposals, our immediate concern is how any decision might impact the people of Suffolk.
"The proposed cut to these organisations will provide an extremely modest difference to the council’s overall finances, representing a saving of just 0.057% of the council’s 23/24 revenue budget.
"However, the ‘cost’ to our county will be so much more significant. Collectively, our organisations support 24,493 children and young people and 76,516 vulnerable people through our community engagement work."
Speaking as the cuts were announced, deputy council leader Richard Rout said: "This is the most challenging budget-setting process the council has faced for many years.
"But once again, we are putting adult and children’s care at the heart of our plans.
"However, in order to ensure appropriate levels of funding for these key services, and those most in need in Suffolk, we must make difficult decisions about all the other services we deliver, and how we deliver them."
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