The Stage

Stag Theatre saved from demolition

Published Tuesday 18 November 2008 at 14:10 by Lalayn Baluch

Kent’s Stag Theatre, which went dark in July after its operating company went into administration, has been saved from demolition and will reopen in the new year following a successful take-over bid by Sevenoaks Town Council.

It will open on a short-term lease in January to allow a pantomime to be staged, while the local authority recruits senior management staff and establishes an independent charitable trust to run the 450-seat venue.

Sevenoaks District Council has agreed that the building can be leased by the town authority for 25 years on a small ‘peppercorn’ rent. It will also fund the Stag, which will become a community arts venue under the new plan, with a grant of £100,000 annually for the first five years.

According to town council chief executive Linda Larter, the venue would have faced demolition if the bid was unsuccessful.

She said: “We didn’t want the cultural facility to be lost, so in the summer we put in a bid. In October, it became apparent that we weren’t one of several options, we were the only option, or it would be pulled down. From the town’s perspective that would have left a cultural void.”

The future of the Stag has been in question since July when it was handed back to the district authority after management company Kino Holdings Ltd hit financial crisis. A take-over proposal from Kent County Council was rejected because it was deemed too costly.

Elaine Bracken, the district council’s cabinet member with responsibilty for the arts, said: “They [Sevenoaks Town Council] have a vision for a vibrant community facility, but I will stress that if it is to succeed, the whole community will need to give its backing and support to the theatre and cinema programme to ensure it remains viable in the years to come.”

Meanwhile, television presenter and a supporter of the theatre Cheryl Baker welcomed the news. She said: “I am thrilled with the decision by Sevenoaks District council to let the town council take over the running of the Stag. It has been mismanaged twice over the last few years, resulting in the threat of that beautiful theatre and cinema to be turned into a block of flats.

“I am willing to be as vehement as possible to help keep the Stag alive, but it will depend in the end on the people of Sevenoaks and beyond putting their money where their mouth is and buying tickets.”