Plan to save Thameside theatre must include £20m over 30 years, says council

The council said in 2021 the Thameside complex was surplus to requirements and it could run services without the building

Campaigners trying to save a theatre complex can submit a revised proposal but it must include a £20m, 30-year maintenance plan.

Thurrock Council, which has debts of about £1.5bn, had suggested the Thameside facility in Grays, Essex, could close.

It said the previous community bid had not shown it could meet the financial cost of the building.

Any new plan "would hinge on financial sustainability", the council said.

In 2021, the council said it could run services without the building after a report said the complex cost £500,000 per year to operate and would cost £16m to refurbish.

Since announcing it was earmarked for disposal, it has been proposed that the library and museum could relocate to the civic centre, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said, and the council has worked with community groups on a plan for a cultural strategy.

About 300 protesters gathered outside the Thurrock Council meeting last week as the authority agreed a 9.99% increase in council tax for the coming financial year

Bids by a partnership between Thurrock Lifestyle Solutions and Thurrock International Celebration of Culture and from Waltham International College were considered but "neither was recommended as a financially sustainable alternative for the future of the building".

At a meeting of the corporate overview and scrutiny committee, the council's director of place, Mark Bradbury, said no decision had been taken on the sale or lease of the 1972-built theatre but any bid to lease it would hinge on financial sustainability, independent of council help.

He said the amount of investment needed during the 30-year lease must be looked at.

The council had said it would run a consultation on alternative provision for cultural events and the meeting agreed a revised community proposal could be submitted as part of that.

Samantha Byrne from the Save the Theatre Campaign said their original bid had not been formally discussed.

"We believe this report on the future of Thameside should not go to cabinet until full and proper consultation has taken place on our bid," she said at the meeting.

Campaigners organised a protest outside last week's full council meeting which voted through its budget for next year, including a 9.99% increase in council tax.

After the meeting, Conservative council leader Mark Coxshall said: "We've never said that the Thameside was closing - what we've said is we need to relook at that."