Troubled gallery gets extra £1m

A further £1m is to be given to a £50m art gallery which opened two years late and nearly £12m over budget.
The Public in West Bromwich, which opened in June, has yet to take paying customers as an interactive gallery, its main feature, is not ready.

It went into administration in 2006 and was effectively saved by a government grant of £1.6m.
Sandwell Council is providing the funding to cover the gallery’s annual operating costs, a spokesman said.
The gallery is seen as integral to the regeneration of West Bromwich and the rest of Sandwell by the local council.
The interactive gallery is currently free to the public while the finishing touches are applied. However, managers have been criticised for eventually charging a £6.95 entry fee.
An estimated 40,000 people have visited the building since it opened, a council spokesman said.

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