Decision details

As part of the Margate Town Deal the Theatre Royal Margate has an allocation of £2,000,000 to deliver much needed works to the Theatre. This funding will help unlock other public and private match funding in order to develop a hub of performing arts in Margate.

This is an exciting time for Margate’s creative industries and the Theatre provides a significant opportunity to build on the performing arts for Margate and the wider area.

Delegated authority was given to the Director of Regeneration in consultation with the Interim Director of Property to market the proposal for the Theatre Royal and 19 Hawley Square in order to identify an operator/commercial partner.

Authority was provided to the Interim Director of Property and Interim Head of Legal and Monitoring Officer, in Consultation with the Portfolio Holder to negotiate the lease heads of terms and all other ancillary documents.

The finalised lease heads of terms and relevant ancillary documents to be brought back to Cabinet for final approval.

Approval was provided to submit an application for a Development Phase Grant to the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Authorising the Director of Regeneration to agree the final submission documents, based on approval from the S151 Officer.

Approval was provided to commission the urgent works to the Theatre Royal, as set-out in the surveys completed in 2021 funded from Historic England.

To enable the delivery of the Margate Town Deal project for the Theatre Royal Margate.

Options considered were:

To only spend £2,000,000 on Theatre Royal, which would not include any bids for match funding, or support for ongoing subsidy provision.

Rejected because this would likely lead to the failure of the Theatre in the very near future without cross subsidy and more space, and is primarily the reason why the Council is responsible for the Theatre at this time. 

Not to include 19 Hawley Square in the Theatre Royal project and look for income sources from elsewhere to support the sustainability of the Theatre. 

This is a challenging task and stakeholder engagement has identified the need to secure a long term revenue income into the Theatre to support its sustainability.

Without the Council providing this commitment, it is likely to be harder to get commitment from other funding organisations.