King's 'will close doors for good in five years'

Published on Thursday 20 September 2007 12:00

THE boss of the King's Theatre today said that plans to safeguard the future of the venue appeared to have been "kicked into the long grass".

John Stalker, head of the trust which runs the King's and the Festival Theatre, said the venue faced closure within five years without a major refurbishment.

But he said a controversial revamp of the Assembly Rooms now seemed to have been given priority over work on the King's.

His remarks have led to an extraordinary dispute with senior council officials, with both sides saying the other is responsible for ensuring the work is carried out.

Mr Stalker said he had previously been given the impression that the council was making the refurbishment of the King's a top priority, but said he now felt that was no longer the case.

He said: "It does appear to have been kicked into the long grass. As far as I was aware the council had ownership of this project, but I don't know what status it has at the moment. The consultants we used to look at what needed to be done with the King's have produced more work on the current state of the building for the council and we're now waiting for them to take it forward.

"We run the King's on behalf of the council. They are responsible for its upkeep and it's clear they need to take responsibility for any refurbishment. It's mealy-mouthed to say otherwise."

The work needed on the King's was initially estimated at 20 million - a cost that led to previous refurbishment plans being shelved at the end of last year.

The council has since ordered a new feasibility study into the cost of revamping the theatre.

But it has pledged to go-ahead with a 12m refurbishment of the Assembly Rooms in the meantime.

Mr Stalker said he believed work on the King's would have to wait until the refurbishment of the Assembly Rooms was complete, in 2012 at the earliest.

Council officials said that was not the case. Jim Inch, director of corporate services for the city, said: "We do recognise that the King's needs significant investment, but it's not a case of either/or with the Assembly Rooms. The latter's refurbishment plans are at a much more advanced stage and we have a funding package ready to take forward to the next stage. Any proposals for the King's could be several years away.

"A trust has been set up by the council to run the King's and any refurbishment is really the responsibility of John Stalker."

Councillors have voted to press ahead with the revamp of the Assembly Rooms despite pleas by rival venues to delay the project by a year until the findings of a major study into the city's cultural landscape is complete.

But city officials warned such a move would lead to the Assembly Rooms revamp costing 13.5m - 1.5m more than the current estimate.

Under plans to restore the building, the historic hall will get a complete overhaul to make it more suitable for music, dance and drama. Labour's culture spokesman on the council, Paul Godzik, said: "There is no doubt there are concerns that the King's project faces being delayed at the expense of what is proposed for the Assembly Rooms.

"We've specifically asked that when councillors are given an update on the proposals, there is a clear indication of how they fit in with the future of the King's."