THURROCK Council's lead councillor for regeneration who has shared the spotlight with his communities portfolio holder over plans to close the Thameside complex, and with it the Thameside Theatre, appears to have opened the door to the local community to take over the facility.

Next week the authority's Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be presented with a report on the council's plans to make significant savings by no longer having to maintain older buildings which are not fit for purpose.

That includes the Thameside Complex and theatre which the council wants to close within five months.

However, there has been a significant public outcry against the closure and local campaigners have taken to the street in demonstrations and mounted a social media protest, calling on the council to find a way to keep the theatre going – at least until a comparable or better facility is created.

Next week's report to the committee says the Thameside will need, at some point in the future, around £16 million spending on it to bring it 'up to standard'. Among work that the council says needs to be done is spending £6.6 million on theatre refurbishment, £2.5 million on mechanical and electrical services and £2.4 million on office refurbishment.

It gives little detail of what the projected work might actually entail.

The council has factored in a contingency cost of £1.671 million and plans to pay project management fees of £750,000 – despite having a significant phalanx of its own senior and mid range officers earning significant six and five figure salaries. The author of the report, corporate director Sean Clark earns in excess of £135,000 for example, while his accountable assistant director for property, Michelle Thompson, draws a salary of around £100,000.

A table attached to this report shows the projected breakdown of costs - and also shows the council can't add up in its reports as it has miscalculated the 'sub-total' in its list by more than £1.5 million. However, the end of table tally of £16,352,720 is correct.

While the cost of refurbishment and running repairs appears to be the principal reason for shutting the complex, the real annual cost of running it is £600,000 says the report.

Anyone taking over the building as it stands might clearly have to deal with refurbishment issues in the future, but the actual running cost does not seem that prohibitive to the theatre being taken over. Nor is it a huge saving in the context of the council's £34 million plus deficit

And that is something that Cllr Mark Coxshall, portfolio holder for regeneration, says might be a possibility.

In a press release issued today by the council, he says: "I welcome interest from local groups on the potential for community asset transfer of the Thameside Complex."

Today's release (Tuesday, 9 November) is a summary of the council's determination to get rid of many of its assets, dressing up that ambition in a statement that says it is making proposals to deliver services 'more effectively from fewer buildings'.

The release says: "The plans for some of the council's assets outline how a proposed transformation of the way in which services are delivered will put them at the heart of the borough's communities and make significant savings by no longer having to maintain older buildings which are not fit for purpose.

"Proposals include relocating the Grays Library and the Registry Office to the Civic Office buildings, while a new cultural strategy is developed to promote greater community participation and more opportunities to create, engage and experience arts, culture and heritage in Thurrock."

Cllr Coxshall is quoted as saying: "Many of the buildings we have traditionally operated services from are now old, dilapidated and no longer fit for purpose. It is estimated that it will cost a minimum of £16 million to bring the Thameside Complex alone up to standard, this investment is only to maintain the current building and will not increase capacity or bring any much needed improvement to the performance area.

"The review has enabled us to look at how these services are delivered and the extent to which they need to be tied to specific buildings in the borough. This is about outcomes and ensuring that we work smarter in a way that meets residents' needs. We have successfully relocated some of the operators to better, more suitable premises.

"These proposals will allow us to re-imagine services for the 21st century which are based in communities rather than behind the doors of aging buildings, with the additional benefit of releasing surplus buildings so land can be used for redevelopment and regeneration purposes.

"However, I also welcome interest from local groups on the potential for community asset transfer of the Thameside Complex."

The drive to move assets into the community is supported by cabinet member for communities Cllr Deborah Huelin, who says: "We are working with groups and the local community to develop a new shared vision for the delivery of arts and culture across the borough.

"There is so much more to delivering arts, culture and heritage than the buildings they have traditionally been based at. These proposals outline a bold new future in which groups work with the council to deliver in the very heart of our communities."

The council's vision of performance venues within local communities was recently mocked by Labour opposition leader Cllr John Kent who contrasted the council's inability to cope with an electrical fault at the civic offices and its failure to find other local venues for council meetings with its belief that the borough is full of places where arts, music and dram events might be staged.

He said: "Conservative councillors who want to close the Thameside Theatre keep telling us you can put quality performances on in venues such as schools and village halls.

"How are our fantastic local groups supposed to do that on a shoestring when - with the all the resources available to them - the council can't even manage to stage a meeting for 49 people?"

The council's attitude to the arts and culture has also been damned by the chair of Arts Thurrock. In an exclusive Nub News story in September, Vic Grays described the council's proposals and approach to local needs and its arts community as 'insulting'.