SHANKLIN Theatre has been given a lifeline after the town’s council agreed to negotiate to buy the building.
The shock announcement was made at Shanklin Town Council’s March meeting.
Its members agreed, in principle, to acquire the freehold of the dilapidated theatre from the Isle of Wight Council and to negotiate its transfer, subject to the town council's final approval.
Cllr Chris Quirk, who tabled the proposal, said early discussions with the Isle of Wight Council, supported by fellow councillors and former Shanklin mayors, Richard Priest and John Fleming, were very promising.
The Grade II-listed building, which needs more than £1.5 million to fully restore it, is due to close on April 3.
The town council aims to occupy the part of the building that houses the box office, the former town hall, and lease the theatre to Shanklin Theatre Community Trust.
"The theatre has a promising future but we have got to get the numbers right and there has to be funding in place from the Isle of Wight Council — set aside for urgent repairs — early in the process," he said.
In the interim, the town council has authorised the mayoress, Cllr Lynda Fleming, to sign a 'licence to occupy’ the theatre, to enable it to continue to operate normally until negotiations for the transfer are completed. This will run until October 8.
A steering group, led by Cllr Quirk, hopes to set up a charitable trust to oversee the restoration and upgrading of the building, and a subsidiary company, to manage the commercial operations of the theatre, by the end of the month.
This means that the theatre could be reopened later next month. The cost of setting it up will be met by the Friends of Shanklin Theatre, which has campaigned hard to save the landmark.
Barrie James, the chairman of the Friends of Shanklin Theatre, welcomed the move and said it would mean that funding streams to help restore the theatre could be tapped into.
Reporter: jonm@iwcpmail.co.uk