Three Worthing theatres to stay under town hall control (From The Argus)

Three Worthing theatres to stay under town hall control

3:50pm Saturday 26th November 2011 in News

After a six-month deliberation, a council has decided to keep control of three theatres at a cost of £1.2 million a year.

Worthing Borough Council, which needs to cut £4.5m from its overall budget over three years, announced in May it was seeking a new operator for the town’s three theatres, and has since 17 expression of interest.

After considering three business plans in detail, the authority has decided none were fit for purpose and will continue to run the theatres itself.

They are the Assembly Hall, Connaught Theatre and Pavilion Theatre.

An opposition councillor has warned the decision has condemned the facilities to being unfit for purpose. Liberal Democrat councillor Bob Smytherman, said: “It has wasted the time of people making a genuine effort to improve Worthing’s theatres.”

The group claimed the theatres were losing £3,000 a day.

But Councillor Mary Lermitte, member of the Theatres Working Group, said: “It was decided none of the theatres would both innovate the service and reduce the net cost to the council taxpayer over the next few years.”

Conservative council leader Paul Yallop said: "A great deal of work has been undertaken to ensure sufficient resources are available to continue current operations until 2013.

"It has always been our intention to maintain good theatre provision in Worthing but we cannot ignore the fact that the level of public subsidy necessary is unaffordable in the medium to long term."