thegossip

no cuts The council offered 2 ways for the venue to stay open, they did not cut the usual grant. That is a solid fact. Unless becky was at the meeting and heard something different. Remember the LT has had its core funding taken away by the Arts Council. The council have done a hell of a lot more for the Lemon Tree than anyone else, so stop giving them a hard time people. My only other post on this forum was......yes you've guessed it.....about the lemon tree in financial difficulty! 500 signatures on a petition. woopie. who's going to read that and care? I'm sorry people are out of jobs, but it is not the fault of the council. The loss of the SAC grant, and the SHOCKING report should have been the kick up the backside they needed, but nothing happened. The Lemon Tree is dead. Long Live the Union Terrace Gardens Project.

no cuts the council did not cut any money. they bailed it out in june with 60k, and they continued to pay the 190k annual grant. its is impossible to keep throwing more and more public money at them. Close it, and start again from scratch.

Sac yes SAC and Scottish Screen are amalgamating to form a new all powerful organisation with more money. they will no longer have to fund the "big 5" national companies as these will get money direct from the scottish exec. so should have more cash available.

evening express /p&j lemon tree stories has anyone ready the p&j today or last nights evening express? i love to say ....... i told you so!

Priorities I understand your thinking Cloud, but The Lemon Tree is no longer a priority for ACC either. They are looking for a new mid-scale venue and the Lemon Tree is not going to be it. I can guarantee you of that. I agree with the comment about the staff list. There are so many, they have had to employ a Human Resources officer!

Details of the Scottish Arts Council's new method of funding arts organisations have been revealed over the past couple of days. Basically, core funding is no longer available for any organisation from April 2007. But foundation funding (long term) and flexible funding (short term) are replacing this. Unfortunately The Lemon Tree is not on either of these lists. It has been put on the "project funding" list, maning that they will have to apply for funds each and every time they do a specific project. They will only be able to use these funds for that particular project. I had a look online at the SAC annual report. In 2004/05 the Lemon Tree received 173,000 from SAC. This will leave a massive hole in their budget, and following the recent revelations about the continuing financial crisis at West North Street, could it be all over before the fat lady is allowed to open her mouth? Stay tuned.................