GRANTING a final £10,000 tranche in funding would allow one of the jewels in the crown of Hyndburn to stay open.

Hyndburn Council scrutiny committee members have recommended cabinet bosses grant £10,000 in funding to Oswaldtwistle Civic Arts Centre, which could have faced closure following a spate of cancelled bookings.

The council earlier this year approved £30,000 in cash for Hyndburn Arts Trust to help keep Oswaldtwistle Civic Arts Centre up and running.

The first two £10,000 payments have been made and now the trust’s accounts have been brought before a scrutiny meeting.

Councillors were satisfied and cabinet members will be asked to grant the final tranche as soon as possible.

Chairman of the committee, Cllr Noordad Aziz, said: “It has been a challenging few months but there has been a shift and a change in culture which I think is positive.

“It’s important that Hyndburn does have an arts organisation and something that breathes life into Oswaldtwistle.

“It’s the focal point for the town and it’s important that it stays that way.

“For me, the Civic Centre is one of the borough’s crown jewels.”

In August Hyndburn Arts Trust secretary Gayle Knight had asked councillors for a one-off £30,000 cash injection to keep the Civic Arts Centre in Oswaldtwistle running.

Ms Knight told the committee without the funding, the centre could have to close.

At the most recent meeting, she said: “It was a tough year and we can’t deny that but we have now reached a point where we have pressed the reset button and a change has been made.

“Going forward, things are looking good.”

A spate of cancelled bookings has contributed to cash flow problems for the trust.

A Michael Jackson tribute act cancelled his tour after a damning BBC Panorama documentary about the star aired.

And self-proclaimed serial killer expert Paul Harrison cancelled his UK tour after an investigation by The Sun cast doubt on his claims to have encountered notorious figures including Rose West, Peter Sutcliffe and Charles Manson.

Last month, Church actress Julie Hesmondhalgh set up a show at the Civic to raise money for the campaign.