Council drag heels over re-opening of Ayr’s Gaiety Theatre

Aug 6 2010 by Stuart Wilson, Ayrshire Post (main ed)

SOUTH Ayrshire Council has refused to confirm when – or even if – it will hand over the keys to the Gaiety Theatre.

And the rescue group wanting to save the building is still locked out – 10 months after clinching the deal to refurbish and run it.

Bosses at County Buildings are continuing to drag their heels on giving the green light to the Gaiety Partnership group, led by wealthy retired businessman Iain Brown.

They even refuse to deny that they’re considering forking out cash to employ even more consultants to advise them on the way forward.

The group, which boasts some of Ayrshire’s leading business minds, has faced a cool response to their plans since being named as the preferred bidder for the theatre.

That was in October 2009, when re-opening was scheduled for this year’s panto.

But the theatre remains boarded up and rescuers are yet to have a sniff of the keys.

This year’s panto has also been axed by cost-cutting council chiefs – only the third time since 1903 that Ayr won’t have a Christmas show.

However, Mr Brown is keeping the faith and insists progress must now be made for the good of the town.

He said: “We’re now in what we hope will be the final stage of negotiation with the council to secure the Gaiety Theatre and hope to have it re-opened for the panto in late 2011.

“Our business plan has been with South Ayrshire Council for some months and has now been passed to their corporate management team.

“The partnership is very keen to resolve all the issues it has thrown up to keep things moving forward as quickly as possible.

“We are cautious of the timeline to receive funding from the lottery, the heritage council and Creative Scotland.”

But it’s believed council chiefs are stalling because they have reservations over the partnership’s business plan.

That’s despite a dream team of top names from around Ayrshire who’ve put the plan together, led by Mr Brown.

It includes former South Ayrshire Council leader Ian Welsh – a man who also spent time as a director of Prestwick Airport, was a school headmaster, heads Ayr United’s successful youth academy and served as an MSP.

Also on the team is Ayr racecourse owner Alan Macdonald – the man widely credited with turning the course into a massive business success. Mr Macdonald is also chairman of the Dawn Group.

Arts expert Chris Freemantle, a leading player on the Ayrshire scene and beyond, is another high-profile name on the partnership team.

But despite the impressive array of talent, council bosses are shying away from letting them loose on the theatre, where the shutters are down.

And the council has failed to answer rumours that they’ll bring in consultants to study the business plan – at a cost of thousands to the tax-payer.

The Post revealed last year how more than £250,000 had already been forked-out by the council on consultants fees for the theatre.

Mr Brown added: “While a lot of people in the community are perhaps disappointed at the length of the process, we have to remain patient to see the task through to the council’s satisfaction.

“This is an extremely difficult time, especially for the partnership’s fundraising volunteers, who are trying to gather funding in the harsh financial climate.

“We expect the council to finalise the partnership bid in December and at that point we can hopefully put together a new look Gaiety.”

Roddy MacDonald, the council’s development chief, said: “The council is working positively with the Ayr Gaiety Partnership to develop a robust and sustainable business plan for the Gaiety Theatre.

“We are looking at areas such as funding, the development of artistic policy and programming and elected members will have the opportunity to consider these in due course.

“No specific timescale has been determined for this, however, we anticipate members will consider the matter this calendar year.

“South Ayrshire Council remains fully committed to working with the Ayr Gaiety Partnership on this project.”