Arts Council England (ACE) has agreed to contribute £3m to help safeguard the future of The Public arts complex in West Bromwich after accepting a revised business plan put forward by the local authority.

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC) drew up the proposals in partnership with Sandwell Leisure Trust (SLT) after the arts funding organisation revealed that it was prepared to provide a one-off grant in order to open the venue's interactive art gallery. Designed by architect Will Alsop, The Public's future had been under scrutiny after the council revealed that its annual running costs had doubled since it partially opened to the public in June 2008.

Sandwell Arts Trust, a new company formed by SMBC and SLT, will take over the running of the arts complex in August on behalf of the council and plans are now in place to fully open the venue by the end of the summer. SMBC cabinet member for regeneration, Bob Badham, said: "When we took on this project in January we decided everything was up for review as part of our business planning.

"We felt very strongly that the building should be all one single experience - so the gallery will be free to visit and will be very much linked to learning and community activity." ACE had originally announced that it was to withdraw financial support for The Public due to delays in opening the venue's interactive art gallery after the company responsible for creating it, Public Gallery Ltd, entered administration earlier this year.