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A council U-turn appears to have secured the immediate future of a town centre theatre threatened with closure.
The survival of the Hazlitt Theatre in Maidstone was thrown into doubt in November when Maidstone Borough Council put its relationship with operator Parkwood Leisure under review.
Discussions held in private then led to the council deciding to take back control of the Earl Street venue - prompting fears the theatre and associated facilities could be closed for good.
The threat to the venue led to a public outcry, with TV personality Russell Grant one of a number of celebrity names to join the fight to save the Hazlitt.
Now the council appears to have reversed its position and officers are recommending that the economic, regeneration and leisure committee votes to continue with the existing Parkwood business plan for the theatre.
The report which will go before the committee next Tuesday, January 26, states: "The business plan scenarios forecast that community activities and live theatre will return to the Hazlitt Arts Centre at some point between January 2021 and September 2021.
"Social distancing restrictions on audience sizes will hamper the profitability of every performance and the theatre is forecast to make a monthly deficit until social distancing restrictions are fully lifted.
"However, if the roll out of the vaccine goes smoothly there is a greater prospect that near normal services could be resumed by the summer this year."
The report does, however, acknowledge the ongoing impact of the pandemic on the arts sector, with ongoing Covid-19 restrictions meaning that even if councillors accept the recommended course of action they could still revisit the decision in light of further developments in the fight against the virus.
Parkwood Leisure has also agreed to set up an advisory forum to work more closely with the council on the future direction of the venue's entertainment programme, including the identification of opportunities for audience development.
