Help to save the Oswaldtwistle civic theatre

The Oswaldtwistle civic arts center & theatre has been in the heart of Oswaldtwistle for many years, bringing many people of our community joy and pleasure with a verity of different events & shows bringing joy to all generations from the elderly to our children it is used quite often, people travel to come and watch shows and also to preform here it would be such a shame for the community to shut this down. Please sign this petition to try and keep the Oswaldtwistle civic theatre open. If this closes the drama class that use here will have to stop, they support local charities, dance schools, drama school, singers, comedy clubs and also bing nights. Without the Oswaldtwistle civic arts center and theatre where will all these people go to find their feet and the support that these wonderful people have given to them so far.? Also please can everyone give a thought about all the people that work here and have just lost their jobs a job they love doing.

There has been some speculation online about the future and stability of the Civic Arts Centre and Theatre. We are sad to say that it is actually true and the doors have closed. Instruction has been given to Begbies Traynor (Central) LLP to place Hyndburn Arts Ltd into Liquidation, the charity that has been managing the Civic Arts Centre and Theatre for the last 13 years.

With rising fuel prices, a cost of living crisis, acts cancelling because of low ticket sales, the imminent risk of larger repairs being needed and the loss of some large contracts, notably we have lost £45k of events business from HBC this year that we had last year, we do not feel that we are able to make it through the winter so it’s is prudent to make the judgement call now while debts are relatively low.

Staff have been told and we are now in the process of handing over all information to Begbies Traynor to follow the redundancy process to assist with their claims. We ask that you respect that people have lost their careers and their income alongside something which they are all passionate about.

Obviously, we are saddened that it could not be saved and saddened that we can not be part of all of the exciting opportunities for Arts and Culture in the area. With huge amounts of money coming into the area for Arts and Culture it is sad that we have not been able to be part of Hyndburn Borough Council’s plans.

So, what happens now - everything will now be dealt with by Begbies Traynor. They will be in contact with all creditors in due course regarding money they are owed. If you wish to contact Begbies Traynor,

(Note: if you bought tickets online via Ticketsource these will be automatically refunded when the shows are officially cancelled online). If you paid cash or by debit/credit card or you have paid for the hire of the theatre you will be contacted as a creditor.

It is going to take some time to process all of this and for the assets to be assessed and distributed. Please have patience with us.

But for now, this is the end of an era. The team are all incredibly sad that we can no longer be part of the community of Oswaldtwistle. We have loved helping to build a creative and vibrant centre that is loved by locals and visited by people from across the North West.

Hyndburn Arts Ltd