WORCESTER's closure-threatened Swan Theatre could be saved by adding only five pence per week to the average household council tax bill, city MP Mike Foster claims.

The Labour MP has challenged the city council to ask voters if they would be willing to pay the extra charge.

The figure, verified by Treasury bosses, would raise the crucial £83,000 the council is threatening to cut from the grant it awards the theatre.

The city council has a tax base of 31,410 homes. Mr Foster said £83,000 spread over this base would cost £2.64 per property a year, or just over five pence per week.

"So far, all we have heard about is cuts in the grant paid to the Swan. But the cost of keeping our theatre is just five pence a week," said the former accountancy lecturer. "That is all it would cost to keep the theatre open."

"I know leading councillors claim they are just amateurs, but their approach in this matter has been worse than amateurish, it has been a shambles.

"What effort have they made to find ways of keeping the grant? Have they asked neighbouring Wychavon District Council to make a contribution?

"Have they asked the question, as I have, about how much it would cost each household to keep the Swan alive?

"The simple arithmetic needed can be easily understood, even by amateurs. Five pence a week can save the theatre.

"The city council has the power to save it if they want to. The question must be, do they want to save it?

"The arts have always benefited from public subsidy. Councillors must decide if five pence a week is too much to pay to keep the theatre. As the old saying goes, 'for the want of a nail a battle was lost'."

Earlier this week, a full council meeting rejected a recommendation the authority should maintain its current level of support for the theatre, £137,000.