Council launches campaign to buy local theatre

A local authority has launched a fundraising campaign to help purchase a theatre.

Sevenoaks Town Council wants to raise £100,000 towards acquiring the Stag Theatre from its higher level counterpart Sevenoaks District Council (SDC).

The town council leases the venue on London Road but has said the building should be transferred to them at no cost.

The district council has instead offered three options - purchase the theatre for £650,000, a 30-year lease at a peppercorn rent or transfer it to SDC's successor authority after local government reorganisation in 2028.

District council leader Kevin Maskell said the options appropriately balanced "supporting local stewardship and protecting public assets".

Tony McEwen, chief executive of the Stag Theatre, told councillors: "It does not feel right to spend public money buying the freehold of a property that is in every meaningful sense already a public asset."

He said the council should buy the theatre "because it gives the town certainty, control and protection for the long term".

Councillor Nick Varley said that if the town council makes the purchase it wants the "ability to start an ambitious new future for the Stag".

Another councillor, Claire Shea, said the alternative options came with "more risk".

She said: "We will be launching a fundraising campaign this week to ask residents, theatre-goers, cinema lovers and supporters to help us fill the gap in the finances we need... without increasing council tax."

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