PAPER B
Committee : Education,
Community Development and Lifelong Learning Select Committee
Date : 12 AUGUST 2002
Title : SHANKLIN AND RYDE THEATRES
REPORT OF THE HEAD OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM
SUMMARY/PURPOSE
Members are
invited to consider some of the issues that will determine the Council’s
continuing support for its theatres in Ryde and Shanklin when the existing
management contracts expire in December 2003.
BACKGROUND
Ryde and
Shanklin Theatres are owned by the Council and are operated under contract by
two independent organisations.
The existing management contracts for both theatres end in December 2003. The contract for Ryde was extended in 2000 such that it terminated at the same time as the Shanklin contract, thereby increasing the options available to the Council in determining the future management of the theatres.
Both contracts were inherited from the former boroughs and are therefore substantially different in terms of the level of expectation placed on the contractors. The contract for Shanklin Theatre was also linked with the operation of Sandown Theatre which was closed in 1998 when the Council’s lease on it expired.
The Issues
The fundamental
issue for the Council to address is what it would like its theatre provision to
look like in January 2004.
It would be
sensible to have made this judgment by the end of 2002 to allow a suitable
lead-in time to put new arrangements in place for when the existing contracts
expire.
For Today
The operators
of both theatres have been invited to attend the meeting and answer Members’
questions in relation to the current operation of both theatres and how they
may develop in the future.
For Information
1.
The Council’s subsidy to both
theatres is £160,000 in the current year (2002/03)
2.
The Property Services Department
have identified £167,000 of work needing to be undertaken at Shanklin Theatre
in the next 5 years (as at March 2002)
3.
The Property Services Department
have identified £160,000 of work needing to be undertaken at Ryde Theatre in
the next 5 years (as at March 2002).
4.
Ryde Theatre is a grade II listed
building, the theatre is on the second and third floors. The ground floor is used as office
accommodation by the Social Services Directorate. There is evidence of a growing conflict in use.