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Search forTheatre 'could stand empty for 25 years'
Wednesday, October 08, 2008, 07:30
Director Chris Moreno has around 25 years left on the lease for the property – and City Hall has no plan in place if he decides to stay.
The council would have to pay a sizeable sum to get the publicly-owned building back and bosses are instead urging Mr Moreno to seek Lottery funding to keep the venue open.
However, he insists he has had enough and will board up the building next March.
With no council plan on the table, and Mr Moreno remaining silent on the issue, doubts are growing over what will happen to the Clasketgate building when it closes on March 31.
Coun Hilton Spratt, who played a key role in the theatre's £170,000 a year funding being withdrawn, urged Mr Moreno to "get his finger out" and apply for new funding.
"The ball is very much in his court at the moment," he said.
If it is boarded up, the council would be responsible for the upkeep of the building's exterior, while Mr Moreno would have to maintain the interior.
For more on the future of the Theatre Royal, see Wednesday's Echo
Chris Moreno outside the theatre
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