Bradford's Priestley Centre for the Arts will close its doors for the last time in less than a fortnight.

The theatre is due to cease trading on January 20 and the limited company which runs it will go into voluntary liquidation after six of the seven board members present at a meeting last night agreed to the move.

The board will now call an extraordinary general meeting for February 4 and will recommend that the 430 theatre members agree to the liquidation, leading to the disposal of the company's assets - including the theatre building in Chapel Street, Little Germany.

Priestley Centre for the Arts Ltd - a registered charity - has struggled for 14 months to find an estimated £60,000 it owes to creditors and further funding to secure its long-term future.

In October 2001, the Telegraph & Argus led a successful campaign to help keep the theatre alive as it teetered on the brink of bankruptcy.

A total of £11,000 was raised as people rallied to support the Priestley Centre and Bradford Council gave £14,000 to try to secure the theatre's future.

But today chairman of the board, Glen Boldy, said efforts to keep it going had failed and blamed its location close to derelict Eastbrook Hall and problems with vehicle crime in Little Germany for keeping theatre-goers away.

Mr Boldy said the theatre would need grants from the National Lottery and other sources to secure its future - but it would take up to two years to get funding in place.

The demolition and construction of the planned Broadway shopping centre would further isolate the theatre, he claimed.

But he pledged that some of the theatre's treasures will not be sold off.

Hand-written manuscripts by JB Priestley and Bradford composer Delius have been given to the city's archives and Mr Boldy said today they belonged to the people of Bradford.

The final curtain will fall at the theatre at the end of the run of a nostalgic production of Quartet which is based on a golden oldie theme with a cast of long-serving members.

"We have been trying to get some sort of package together to save the theatre but we feel the end of the line has come," Mr Boldy said.

Mr Boldy, managing director of APC Bradford overnight parcels service, said: "This is a very, very, sad day.

"My view is that even if we did realise the vision document we have prepared, the immediate situation would not have improved."

He said the only faint glimmer of any future would be immediate cash to pay off the creditors.

Mr Boldy added Barclays Bank and Inter-Brew, which was involved in the centre's refurbishment, were the main creditors. "We have a moral obligation to pay them," he said.

In a letter to members today Mr Boldy said the centre would have needed full-time professionals to drive forward its plans but they could not obtain a commitment from the Council to fund the posts.

Mr Boldy said any money left after the assets sale would be donated to a similar type of charity. "It is a sad situation. We are solvent on an assets basis but struggling on a liquid cash basis. Valuations are being done on the building."

Closure would come as a body blow to community groups which use the theatre .

The theatre group started life in 1901 and moved into the Chapel Street building 20 years later.

The Civic, as it was then known, was founded by JB Priestley and he supported it until his death in 1984.

It was named after him when it re-opened following a major fire in 1996.

Jane Glaister, Bradford Council's director of arts, heritage and leisure, said: "We are very disappointed that despite the efforts of everyone concerned the board has decided that the best option for the Priestley Centre for the Arts is to go into voluntary liquidation.

"Over the past year Bradford Council and other partners, such as Yorkshire Arts, have worked closely with the board in an attempt to find ways of keeping the centre open for the benefit of local people. We will continue to work with the board and are committed to helping them to find a way forward."

Theatre listings and reviews