Fears King's and Festival theatre refits fund will be used to ease money woes

Published on Tuesday 1 March 2011 13:12

THEATRE-goers have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds to improve two of Edinburgh's best-loved venues but not a penny has yet been spent on refurbishment work.

A 1 additional charge on all tickets sold at the King's and Festival theatres was introduced in January 2010, with the money raised through the "theatre development fund" (TDF) to be earmarked specifically for improvements to the theatres.

It has now emerged, however, that none of the money has yet been used on upgrades to the venues, with fears growing that it may have to be diverted towards dealing with the financial crisis at the trust that runs them rather than improving facilities.

The Evening News revealed earlier this week that the cash crisis at the Festival City Theatres Trust (FCTT) is so bad that bosses had to ask the council for an advance of 400,000 of next year's grant funding to "alleviate cash flow problems".

A crisis meeting also resulted in only the 2.6 million first phase of the revamp of the King's, funded entirely by the council and Historic Scotland, getting approval to go ahead. Theere is doubt over whether 3.4m of additional work, which requires funding from non-council sources including the TDF, will ever happen.

Meadows/Morningside councillor Paul Godzik said: "We all know the King's is in desperate need of refurbishment and people are putting money towards this fund on the understanding it will be used for these types of projects, so there needs to be that assurance."

The trust's website says that the fund will help to "protect the future" of the theatres, and provide artists and audiences with the "standards of comfort expected of public buildings today".

It goes on: "Where applicable, published ticket prices and discounts will include a small contribution to the Fund. Most importantly, every penny raised will be directed solely at the improvement of our buildings and their equipment."

Bosses at the trust say that some of the 250,000 raised by the fund will go towards a 2.8m extension of the Festival Theatre, but were unable to confirm how much. No money has yet been earmarked for the King's upgrade.

A spokeswoman for the FTCC said: "Since January 2010, 250,000 has been raised through the Theatres Development Fund.

"To date, none of it has been committed but TDF money is earmarked for the Potterow rehearsal room development. Income raised through the TDF will be directed at the improvement of buildings and their equipment."