BROMSGROVE'S £2.6m failing entertainment centre is being forced to re-launch just six months after opening and numerous council handouts.

Bromsgrove District Council gave the Artrix, in School Drive, an immediate 'start up' grant of £40,000 and a further £50,000 from the Oakalls estate developers for 'community use' that was spent on film and sound equipment.

The purpose-built venue was opened in April by HRH, the Duke of Gloucester, to coincide with the Bromsgrove Festival, but is now set for re-launch.

The open day will be held on Saturday, September 17, and will give the public a chance to view the venue in action and see what it has to offer.

Before building work began, in January 2003, the district council's cabinet agreed to bail out the Artrix - up to a maximum of £120,000 a year, for ten years, if it got into debt over operating costs. This money was brought forward last month after trustees appealed to the council, with staff claiming there was not enough money to complete the project.

It has also been claimed that not enough people in the town know where the Artrix is and that is the reason for its slow start.

Marketing manager for the Artrix, Bev Southall, told the Advertiser/Messenger exclusively: "We are having this open day because we want the people of Bromsgrove to feel like the Artrix is theirs, but at the moment most of them don't even know it's there. That is the main reason it is not doing too well.

"We had to get extra funding because there was not enough money to finish the project, there was not even a proper bar. It was opened too early."

Now staff and trustees are determined to make the purpose-built venue a success by publicising the centre, re-designing the website, giving visitors the option of credit card bookings, and putting on a wide range of entertainment from September onwards.