A performing arts venue in East London has been forced to close after it failed to raise enough money by Christmas so it could stay open long-term. Applecart Arts, an arts charity based in the Passmore Edwards Building in Plashet Park, Newham, held two emergency rallies towards the end of last year after warning it would have to close if it could not raise £100,000 by Christmas.
The charity was being supported by performing arts and entertainment trade union, Equity, and together they called on Newham Council to provide a one-off, £100,000 emergency grant so it could continue to thrive as a ‘much-loved’ performing arts space for the local community. A council spokesperson previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the council’s budget challenges meant they were unable to transfer further resources away from critical services to Applecart.
Applecart had also set up a fundraising page on Crowdfunder where members of the public could donate to the campaign. However on December 30, 2024, Applecart announced on its Crowdfunder page and its website that it was with ‘heavy hearts’ that it would be closing down.
The charity renovated the Passmore Edwards Building during the pandemic
(Image: Applecart Arts)
The charity wrote: “This decision comes despite every effort to sustain the organisation, including the tremendous support from our patrons, artists, and friends. Applecart Arts has been a beacon of hope, a place where art and community came alive. From hosting groundbreaking performances to offering a welcoming space for emerging and local talent, our journey has been one of inspiration and transformation. Your unwavering support allowed us to make dreams come true and create an inclusive, dynamic cultural space.”
The statement later said: “As we close our doors, we invite you to celebrate what we achieved together. Applecart Arts was more than a venue — it was a family, a collective, and a challenge to local leaders, showing what could be achieved if the local authority placed more faith and investment in its grass roots organisations.
“Though this chapter ends, the spirit of Applecart lives on in the stories we shared and the connections we built. Thank you for being part of this remarkable journey. Applecart Arts may be closing, but the memories and impact will endure.”
At the time of writing, Applecart’s Crowdfunding page had raised £9,970 in donations with an additional £1,721.25 raised in Gift Aid – 185 people had donated in total. It’s unclear what will happen to the donations now, but MyLondon has asked for an update.
MyLondon has launched a campaign to save community venues and services under threat. Titled ‘Don’t cut the heart out of London’, it aims to shine a light on vital community facilities at risk of closure – from local theatres to sports clubs and everything in between.
Help us save these beloved venues and remind councils, developers and the people with power and money just how important they are to London. Share these stories, use the hashtag #dontcuttheheartoutoflondon and email us with details of any venues you know of that are under threat. Contact david.comeau@reachplc.com and keep an eye on the campaign page on our website.
According to its fundraising page, Applecart is still continuing to collect donations. Reacting to the news, Equity posted on X: “We’re sad to share that Applecart Arts has closed. It’s a great loss for both the local and creative community and shows short-sighted thinking from Newham Council. We will continue to fight to protect small venues across the UK, they need all of our help more than ever.”
MyLondon had shared Applecarts’ fundraiser as part of our own Don’t Cut the Heart out of London campaign, aimed at saving community venues that are under threat. So far our campaign has helped secure the futures of a theatre in Hayes, West London and an adventure playground in Walthamstow, East London.
During Newham’s full council meeting last month, a statement was read out on behalf of Peter Moreton, who co-founded Applecart with Phil Summers in 2008. It read: “Over the last three years, Applecart was forced to relocate and begin the renovation of the Passmore Edwards Library, this work is currently ongoing but as yet we have invested over £70,000 into the restoration.”
The statement went on to say that Newham had ‘benefited hugely’ by saving upwards of £450,000 in regards to 24-hour security for the building over the last thee years because it had been occupied by Applecart.
“If Applecart was to close, we estimate the ongoing cost to the local authority would be greater than the match funding we are asking for,” Mr Moreton said. He went on to say that Applecart had injected around £1.2million into the local economy, and over 700 emerging artists and 105 theatre companies have showcased their work at the current venue.
Mr Moreton added: “We are asking for an urgent investment of £100,000 from the local authority to enable this work to continue and to give a sign that it is serious about supporting growth in the borough’s cultural sector.”
In response, the Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz, said: “The council and indeed the administration welcomes the contribution that Applecart Arts plays as do many other local art organisations in the borough in the creative and cultural landscape of Newham. [The council] is already supporting Applecart through a subsidy to the rent they pay the council on their premises in Plashet Park which reflects the social value placed on the contribution Applecart makes to the borough.”
Ms Fiaz said based on the social contribution Applecart has made this year, the council charges a rent subsidy of £65,000. She added: “The council’s budget is under significant pressure and any underspend on existing budgets this year is being used to help address these financial pressures – it is therefore not possible for the council to make new financial commitments to Applecart from the existing cultural budget this year.
“Moreover it is not appropriate for the council to make arbitrary decisions about where its investment is directed without due process as part of our governance arrangements and in alignment with our strategic policy framework that informs how investments and resource allocation decisions are made.”
History of Applecart
Applecart began as a company telling stories to a regular crowd each month at the White Hart Pub in Whitechapel. They went on to tour a number of venues, including in pubs, theatres and universities across the country, and have since told their stories through short films and documentaries.
Over the years Applecart has been based in various premises, from an old Victorian school house in Tower Hamlets, to the Harold Road Community Centre in Upton Park, which saved the building from closing down and demolition. Applecart moved into its current premises, a former Victorian library and registry office in Plashet Park, in December 2021.
Since then Applecart has renovated the building to provide a 50-seat theatre, rehearsal and exhibition spaces, art studios and a café, which it achieved without any regular public funding or support towards operational costs. Applecart has supported several organisations locally and all over London, including Sadler’s Wells and HMP Feltham to the University of East London and Stratford School Academy.
Charlotte Bence, Equity’s Theatre Official, previously told the LDRS that Applecart had saved the council money because the building had been refurbished to ‘an incredibly high standard’ and was being used in a way ‘that wasn’t being used before’. She added: “It’s in Newham’s best interest, culturally, politically and economically, to deliver that investment to enable this really important space within the community to continue to thrive.
“Newham is a deprived borough, Newham is a borough that is underserved by access to culture so presiding over the closure of an important cultural asset within the borough would be a massive mistake in part of the Labour administration for a whole host of reasons.”
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