Surrey culture centre to close early next year, but it needs help to even make it that far
The Phoenix Culture Centre is set to close next year following major funding loses, however has turned to crowd funding to help it go out on it's own terms
A culture centre in Woking is closing next year, however the CEO is urging people to donate to ensure it goes out with dignity.
Following major funding loses and 11 break-ins The Phoenix Culture Centre is set to close next year.
Having opened 15 years ago, the centre will close in January 2026, alongside the Fiery Bird music venue in Goldsworth Road.
The centre, which runs training opportunities, grassroots music events and provides inclusive meeting space for the community, now needs £30,000 to keep going and fulfil commitments.
CEO Elaine McGinty tells us that the centre is closing due to there not being any possibility of a future home.
"A temporary space always relies on a future space, but there is no future space here. And hence we are closing, which will leave a gap"
Elaine says that if the centre was to have a permanent space, it would have the means to survive, a situation that she labelled as very frustrating.
"If we did have stable space to do it in, there's a myriad numbers of income streams that we would be able to generate from that and funding coming in that would support it well.
Because we're not just doing a grassroots music venue, we're doing a whole offer of lots of other things. Because we don't have a permanent space, I can't get funding to employ people."
The gap, McGinty says, will affect the many community groups and charities that use the space the centre has provided.
She says that although funding runs out by the end of this month, groups are still booked to come in, and that she want's to honour their bookings.
"A lot of elements came together at once, which left us in a position of having no more money from the end of this month effectively. But we had vulnerable groups who were coming. They come two, three days a week. Adults with special needs get supported.
One charity do their nightclub nights for SEND adults. They are booked until the end of the year. Surrey choices. We have their adults with special needs who come and do supported volunteering in the day. There's an Afghan refugee women's group."
Elaine says that the Crowdfunder will help ensure agreements are kept, and that the centre gets to go out with dignity
"That's why our Crowdfunder is to help us control the closure so that the groups that we've got, are supported till the end of the year.
Young bands, new bands that booked in gigs, promoters who put their faith in in the town, it's not fair on them, most especially the vulnerable people to just lose it like that.
So we thought, well, we've had all this adversity for 15 years and trying to do this one simple thing and finish with dignity."