The Stage

Two councils battle it out to manage Stag, Sevenoaks

Published Tuesday 9 September 2008 at 15:20 by Lalayn Baluch

Sevenoaks Stag theatre, which closed when its management went into administration in July, is the target of rival bids from two local authorities vying to take over the management of the venue.

Sevenoaks Town Council is proposing to create an independent charitable trust to run the arts centre and its existing facilities, while Kent County Council wants to retain the theatre and replace one of the two cinema screens with a one stop shop for local authority services.

These are the two leading bids from a total of 22 which Sevenoaks District Council has received since it was handed back the Stag, after venue operator Kino Holdings Ltd hit financial crisis.

At the time, Kino blamed its difficulties on the economic downturn, alleging it had led to poor trading figures and lower than anticipated use of the cinema and theatre, despite a marketing campaign involving special offers and a 20,000 leaflet drop.

Elaine Bracken, the district council’s cabinet member with responsibility for the arts, said: “We resolved to investigate the options to reopen the Stag and, in doing so, our focus is to deliver a facility that is sustainable in the long term. It is crucial that we make the right decision for Sevenoaks town, the district as a whole and the council. With evaluation criteria agreed this process can go ahead to an agreed timescale.”

While the Stag is closed, the council has made arrangements with former staff of Kino to continue youth outreach work from September, as well as a schools’ programme.

A council spokesman told The Stage that it hopes to have a new operator in place by the end of October, however the venue will not reopen until the new year.