A debate is raging over the future of a council building used for art exhibitions as public services in the Sussex town are squeezed

When the doors closed on two art shows in the Sussex town of Lewes last weekend, a record number of people had crossed the threshold of Southover House to look at works by Picasso and Grayson Perry.

For 18 months, the former council office building has housed a pop-up outpost of Charleston, the former home of key members of the Bloomsbury group, which is nearby in the village of Firle.