An east London performing arts venue has been forced to close after it failed to raise enough money for Christmas to keep it open for long. Applecart Arts, a charity based in the Passmore Edwards Building in Plashet Park, Newham, held two emergency meetings late last year after warning it would have to close if it could not raise £100,000 by Christmas.
The charity was supported by the performing arts and entertainment trade union, Equity, and together they called on Newham Council to provide a one-off grant of £100,000, so it could continue to thrive as a “beloved” performing arts space for the local community. A council spokesperson previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the council’s budget challenges meant it was unable to transfer additional resources from critical services to Applecart.
Applecart had also set up a fundraising page on Crowdfunder where the public could donate to the campaign. However, on December 30, 2024, Applecart announced on its Crowdfunder page and website that it was with “heavy hearts” that it was shutting down.
The charity wrote: “This decision comes despite all efforts to sustain the organisation, including the tremendous support of our customers, artists and friends. Applecart Arts has been a beacon of hope, a place where art and community were brought to life. From being hosting groundbreaking performances to provide a welcoming space for emerging and local talent, our journey has been one of inspiration and transformation, your unwavering support enabled us to realize dreams and create an inclusive dynamic cultural space.”
The statement later said: “As we close our doors, we invite you to celebrate what we achieved together. Applecart Arts was more than a place – it was a family, a collective and a challenge to local leaders, showing what could be achieved if the local authority placed more faith and investment in its grassroots organisations.
“Although this chapter ends, the spirit of Applecart lives on in the stories we shared and the connections we built. Thank you for being a part of this remarkable journey. Applecart Arts may be close, but the memories and impact will live on. “
At the time of writing, Applecart’s Crowdfunding page had raised £9,970 in donations with a further £1,721.25 raised in Gift Aid – 185 people had donated in total. It is unclear what will happen to the donations now, but have asked for an update.
According to its fundraising page, Applecart is still collecting donations. Reacting to the news, Equity wrote on X: “We are sad to share that Applecart Arts has closed. It is a great loss for both the local and creative community and shows short-sighted thinking by Newham Council. We will continue to fight to protect small venues across the UK, they need all our help more than ever.”
had shared Applecart’s fundraiser as part of our own Don’t Cut the Heart out of London campaign, which aims to save community spaces under threat. So far our campaign has helped secure the future of a theater in Hayes, west London and an adventure playground in Walthamstow, east London.
During the Newham council meeting last month, a statement was read out on behalf of Peter Moreton, who founded Applecart with Phil Summers in 2008. It read: “Over the past three years Applecart has been forced to relocate and begin the refurbishment of Passmore Edwards Library, this work is currently ongoing but we have yet invested over £70,000 in the restoration.”
The statement went on to say that Newham had “benefited enormously” by saving upwards of £450,000 in terms of 24-hour security for the building over the past few years as it had been occupied by Applecart.
“If Applecart were to close, we estimate the running cost to the local authority would be greater than the match funding we are requesting,” Moreton said. He went on to say that Applecart had injected around £1.2m into the local economy, and over 700 emerging artists and 105 theater companies have showcased their work at the current venue.
Mr Moreton added: “We are asking for an urgent investment of £100,000 from the local authority to enable this work to continue and to give a sign that it is serious about supporting the growth of the borough’s cultural sector.”
In response, the Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz, said: “The council and indeed the administration welcomes the contribution that Applecart Arts plays, as do many other local arts organizations in the borough, to the creative and cultural landscape of Newham. (The council) already supports Applecart by subsidizing the rent they pay to the council at its premises in Plashet Park, reflecting the social value placed on the contribution Applecart makes to the borough.”
Fiaz said that based on the social contribution Applecart has made this year, the council is taking out a rent subsidy of £65,000. She added: “The council’s budget is under significant pressure and any underspending of existing budgets this year is being used to help deal with these financial pressures – it is therefore not possible for the council to make new financial commitments to Applecart from the existing cultural budget this year.
“Furthermore, it is not appropriate for the council to make arbitrary decisions about where to direct its investment without due process as part of our governance arrangements and in line with our strategic policy framework which informs how investment and resource allocation decisions are made.”
Applecart History
Applecart began as a business telling stories to regular audiences every month at the White Hart Pub in Whitechapel. They continued to tour in a number of venues, including pubs, theaters and universities across the country, and have since told their stories through short films and documentaries.
Over the years, Applecart has been based in various premises, from an old Victorian schoolhouse in Tower Hamlets, to the Harold Road Community Center in Upton Park, saving the building from closure and demolition. Applecart moved into its current premises, a former Victorian library and register office in Plashet Park, in December 2021.
Since then, Applecart has renovated the building to provide a 50-seat theatre, rehearsal and exhibition spaces, art studios and a café, which it achieved without regular public funding or support for running costs. Applecart has supported several organizations locally and across London, including Sadler’s Wells and HMP Feltham to the University of East London and Stratford School Academy.
Charlotte Bence, Equity’s Theater Official, previously told LDRS that Applecart had saved the council money because the building had been renovated to “an incredibly high standard” and was being used in a way “that wasn’t used before”. She added: “It is in Newham’s best interests, culturally, politically and economically, to deliver that investment to enable this really important space in the community to continue to thrive.
“Newham is a deprived borough, Newham is a borough that is underserved by access to culture, so to preside over the closure of an important cultural asset within the borough would be a huge mistake on the part of the Labor administration for a variety of reasons.”
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