The Conservative-run Royal Borough have been under pressure to abolish its proposed plan to withdraw its funding from the arts by residents, opposition councillors, and the Public Campaign for the Arts – who have set up a petition that has garnered over 4,900 signatures.

Director of the Public Campaign for the Arts Jack Gamble said: “The arts are not a luxury – they provide vital benefits to our lives and communities.

“We appreciate the financial pressures that local councils are under, partly due to cuts from national government since 2010, but sacrificing our cultural services is not the answer. We have to find a way to keep funding them alongside other services – it shouldn’t be an either/or.”