A PETITION created by Anvil Arts which urges Basingstoke council to reverse its 50 per cent funding cut to the organisation has exceeded the number of signatures gained by the platform’s previously successful campaign.

The plea, published via arts organisation Campaign for the Arts, gained more than 5,000 than less than a week and asks the council to reverse the cut of £400,000, instead working with Anvil Arts to secure the future of theatre in the town.

This is the second petition to be published on the website, which describes itself as a collective of tens and thousands of people with a shared aim of helping the arts sector to recover by securing adequate funding.

Its first, successful, petition began in Nottingham in February of this year, when the council there proposed a 37 per cent cut of local funding to each of five major arts organisations.

Campaigners managed to secure a reduction to 15 percent cut.

Now, a spokesperson for Campaign for the Arts has told Anvil Arts’ CEO Matthew Cleaver that the Basingstoke petition is well on track to be similarly successful.

They said: “Our first local campaign was victorious in Nottingham, protecting arts organisations from massive council cuts.

“Already, even more people have joined this campaign in Basingstoke to oppose the council's cut to Anvil Arts – over 5000 supporters in less than a week. It’s a fantastic start."