by Alex Claridge

aclaridge@thekmgroup.co.uk

Cheering and applause filled the Guildhall last night as the city council agreed to keep the Westgate Hall open.

The council's ruling executive voted unanimously to allow the building to be run as part community centre for central Canterbury and part arthouse cinema.

Only last year the authority had been intending to demolish the hall and replacing it with temporary car parking spaces.

But last Wednesday's meeting of the Tory executive saw councillors line up to heap praise on the plans created by the Westgate Community Trust - the body formed in March 2010 to keep the hall open - and cinema group Corinthian Curzon, who will run the building jointly.

Cllr Darren Ellis, the member for Northgate, said: "I believe this will complement the cultrual opportunities in Canterbury.

"It's a fantastic scheme and I'm confident it will succeed."

The council last year decided that the building would need to be shut as part of what Cllr Ann Taylor called "essential budget cuts", undoubtedly linked to the financial crisis engulfing nation.

"But the Westgate Community Trust was formed and they demonstrated that they could run the hall at no cost to the council," said Cllr Taylor, who represents Reculver.

"They put forward a strong business case which shows that they could. This will now change from a community hall for hire into community hub."

Council leader John Gilbey, however, stressed that the trust and Curzon Cinemas would have their work cut out.

He said: "You have taken on quite a task, but it will also be fun and enjoyable.

"And I wish you all the luck to get this right because we don't want the hall back."

The executive voted to "grant in principle a long lease" to the trust and Curzon subject to planning permission and a building survey. It also agreed a budget of £35,000 for the council to run the building until March 2012, allowing it stay open.

The report before the executive states that the next stage in the process is to "seek the relevant permissions, report back to the executive on the agreement of terms and then seek approval from the full council".

These decisions were met clapping and cheering from the 30 or so supporters of the hall who packed the public gallery of the Guildhall.

See next week's Gazette for full report and reaction.