THE director of the Scottish Arts Council yesterday insisted that Scottish Ballet's controversial plan to move its operations to the Tramway visual arts space in Glasgow is not a ''done deal''.
Graham Berry said a grant application by the ballet for lottery funding, a vital pre-condition of the move, would be subject to ''rigorous'' scrutiny by the council.
In a letter to The Herald, Mr Berry said the proposed deal, which would mean the loss of one of Scotland's premier visual arts spaces if it becomes Scottish Ballet's new HQ, was not certain to go ahead.
As The Herald revealed yesterday, senior figures in the visual arts world fear the city council, the SAC, and Scottish Ballet have already decided on the deal behind closed doors.
However, Mr Berry said: ''This is emphatically not the case. We maintain close contact with all the arts organisations we fund, and our relationships with Scottish Ballet, Tramway, and other visual arts organisations are no exception, but that in no way pre-empts the role of our independent council.''
The closure of the site as a visual arts space has been described as ''vandalism'' and ''a tragedy'' by leading figuresin the arts, including Professor Seona Reid, the director of Glasgow School of Art, and Richard Calvocoressi, the director of Scotland's National Gallery of Modern Art.
Scottish Ballet has been seeking a new home for years, as its traditional base in West Princes Street is dilapidated. The company says that Tramway 2 is its preferred option.
Yesterday Glasgow City Council, which owns the Tramway, also maintained the move was not assured. Baillie John Lynch, the convener of cultural and leisure services at the council, said the council had not made any decision on the process.
However, he explained the benefits of the proposed move to the council, and in a letter to The Herald, added: ''While the exhibition space would no longer be available for the visual arts, the financial resources would remain, giving the opportunity for exhibitions in 'found' spaces in the city - which brings us full circle back to the origins of the Tramway.''
Despite his statement, staff at the Tramway have already been informed by the council that Tramway 2 could be occupied by Scottish Ballet and that the visual art space there would be ''displaced''.
An extensive briefing note sent to staff at the site, in the city's south side, reads: ''The presence of Scottish Ballet in the building would enrich the arts programme and, with The Hidden Gardens, facilitate the aim of achieving a critical mass of activity and performance for the public. Options for the most appropriate management model are being considered.''
A spokesman for the council said: ''It is wrong to say our mind is made up. But if Scottish Ballet come to us with an application, we cannot just turn around and say 'no'.''
The briefing note says that Glasgow City Council has been considering a range of options over recent months.
Opposition to the move continued to grow yesterday. Faith Liddell, director of the Dundee Contemporary Arts centre, one of the leading galleries in Scotland, said she was appalled by the prospect of the Tramway closing to visual art.
''I am shocked by this, as we all are. It is a key part of the infrastructure of the Scottish arts scene - there is nothing to compare to that space.''
Letters Page 23
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