THE devastated owners of the Ironworks have revealed the high street arts and community centre will close its doors for the final time next week despite a desperate fundraising campaign to secure its future.

The Ironworks, in the centre of the high street, will close next Thursday after managers of the centre spent the last six months pleading for help to keep it open.

The centre was opened by sisters Ami and Natalie Solomons in 2022 thanks to grant funding from the government and Southend Council but cash has since run out.

Despite a fundraising campaign which raised thousands, they have been unable to secure enough funding to remain in the prominent high street spot.

The Ironworks host a wide-range of community events, including disability clubs, youth clubs, art exhibitions, festivals and gigs Natalie said: “We didn’t expect this, we had written a release in our heads of the good news, but we just cannot feasibly do it, we are so grateful to the community, but we just cannot stay open.

“We know what we have achieved, and we believed in magic.

“Unless there is a miracle, the shutters will be closed, we have had to make this decision, people need to go and find other jobs.

“We hope people come and support us and attend with the community on our last day, to reminisce with is.

“The Ironworks was original and unique to even Essex, there is nowhere like it, and we hope our legacy can be used as an exemplar, we did whatever the community wanted, and we fulfilled the objectives of the project.

“The time we had was just not long enough and we needed to bridge that gap.

The Ironworks will be open everyday until it’s closure, with a big send-off set to take place on February 29, to say goodbye to two years of the venue and the place it has had in the community.

Natalie added: “We’ve just had an amazing week and the graffiti school was great, we saw young aspiring artists get excited and get excited by art and the freedom of expression, we have given help to so many types of people.

“Every type of artist, from painters to spoken-word performers and musicians we have given a platform too.

“We are devastated, but we do not feel like failures.”