WITH eight months to go, the strategy for developing culture in Darlington is already under way.

Since the Government proposed that local authorities should have a cultural strategy in place by the end of the year, Darlington Borough Council has been developing a scheme that will benefit a wide cross-section of people.

The Civic Theatre, the Arts Centre and the Railway Museum are prized assets in the town's cultural heritage.

The strategy aims to further define and encourage cultural work in the community.

Leisure, media, sports and the arts will all be under the microscope.

But with four months of the year already past, critics are concerned that not enough is being done to help meet the target.

The council is yet to fill its head of arts vacancy and may not have the right person in place until autumn.

Paul Harman, artistic director of CTC Theatre, at Darlington Arts Centre, believes discussion and debate on the strategy is overdue.

"The process has not really started yet and very few people inside or outside the council have been involved so far," he said.

"A cultural strategy for Darlington starts with huge advantages. But the only safe way to approach the future is by building a broadly-based community of interest in our cultural life, sharing the best ideas from the voluntary and the public sector, learning more about what different independent groups contribute and encouraging more people to take part."

Darlington council denies that not enough is being done for the arts in the borough, and says that it is on target to complete the strategy by Christmas.

A council spokesman said: "A lot of the background has been completed. A public consultation will take place in June and July.

"A lot of the ground work has been done ahead of the appointment of a head of arts, so we are on target."

The council plans to consult relevant bodies throughout the town, including libraries, art galleries and museums.

It has employed a consultant over the past three months to help to build the foundations of the strategy.

But Paul Harman said he hoped the strategy would be built on the ideas of Darlington people, not just on ideas about what the consultants think people want.