On June 27th Arts Council England decided to withdraw its support for Locus+. This decision has serious implications for the survival of the company and the long-term welfare of the Locus+ Archive as a regional and national asset.

We recieved a 42% cut in Arts Council funding from 2015 onwards followed by full withdrawl of Arts Council support effective from April 2018.

We have requested an explanation from the Arts Council North East Office for both cuts, but in the two months since the decision to no longer fund Locus+ was announced, have not received clarity.

Reluctantly, we have taken the decision to write directly to the Chair of Arts Council England on this matter.

We have been overwhelmed by the response and the much appreciated messages of support.

Attached is a copy of the letter that was sent to Arts Council England on 7th September 2017 along with the list of co-signatories.

The campaign was picked up by The Observer the following week and the article can be read here.