ABERGAVENNY’S Borough Theatre is facing an uncertain future with trustees failing to secure enough funding to keep it going.

Monmouthshire County Council will decide its fate in the next six months if it agrees to take over the venue’s lease next week.

The local authority had transferred ownership of the theatre to the Borough Theatre Trust (BTT), an independent board of trustees, in 2013.

For the first three years of the agreement, BTT received an annual grant of £163,707 from the council, an additional £28,000 from the Arts Council of Wales, and income from performances.

It was hoped that the wider access to additional income would see BTT become less dependent of the council.

But in September 2016 the trust was told that the council would be scaling back its subsidy, in line with the agreement.

In July last year, the council carried out a schedule of dilapidations – a check for any breaches in lease – and found a need for repairs amounting to £119,611.

If cabinet decide to accept the surrender of the lease on February 28, Monmouthshire County Council would take on six theatre staff through a TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment).

A TUPE is a process which protects the rights of an employee when the organisation it works for transfers to a new employer.

This would cost the council £9,512 a month, with the council also facing the possibility of having to pay severance costs to the staff if the Borough Theatre is found to be unsustainable.

A cabinet report suggests that the council draft members of its economy and enterprise team to provide “leadership and management” while it reviews all options during the six-month period.

“Such an appraisal cannot be carried out lightly,” the report reads.

“The theatre provides a year-round programme of performances to suit all genres, and it is a valued asset by the local community and those further afield.”

In 2016/17, the Borough Theatre brought 25,032 people through its doors.

A full report on the venue’s long-term viability will be presented to councillors in the autumn.

Hugh Candler, chair of the BTT, said the mutually agreed transfer would be coming “at the right time” as the trust were unable to form a viable budget for the coming financial year.

“It's disappointing that it hasn't worked out,” he said.

“At the end of the day we're not in business, we're volunteers who are trying to run a professional theatre. 

“This has been a strain on the trust as we've put a lot of effort into the theatre.”

The possibility of the theatre closing would be “absolutely devastating”, according to A4B (Acting4Borough).

A4B is an umbrella organisation representing the amateur community based at the Borough Theatre.

Liz Davies, chair of A4B, said: “It would be a terrible tragedy if something which had been created to ensure the future of the theatre was to end in the theatre closing in just three years.

South Wales Argus:

“We will do everything we can to support the theatre, through fundraising work or manpower, whatever we can to make sure it stays open.”

A4B is said to have “huge confidence” in the council team being deployed to deal with the situation, and that the group have “exciting plans” for the theatre if it is saved from closure.

Ms Davies added: “We are confident that with the support of local societies and the local community that we can ensure an exciting future at the theatre in whatever form that may take.”