Chisholm calls for early action over King's

Published on Friday 11 January 2008 09:15

WORK on refurbishing the King's Theatre must begin within the next financial year, a city MSP has warned.

Labour's Malcolm Chisholm welcomed the news that an inspection had found the electrical equipment at the 102-year-old venue posed "no imminent threat" for a couple of years.

But he claimed other parts of the building, including fire escapes and sanitation, were still matters of concern.

And he told the Scottish Parliament: "Positive news about one aspect of the theatre's problems does not mean that the council can sit back and do nothing for the next two years."

Mr Chisholm, who is MSP for Edinburgh North & Leith and Labour's culture spokesman at Holyrood, said the King's could not be relied on in its current state.

"The electrics may not be as bad as feared but there are many other things that could go wrong. This is a threat to all the excellent productions in the pipeline over the next few months."

At question time in the parliament, he asked the government if it had held discussions with the city council about the "parlous" state of the King's.

Finance Secretary John Swinney said he was sure the question of the future use, role and fabric of the theatre would be considered "very actively" by members of the council. And he said the government would be happy to continue discussions with the council on a variety of issues.