Key Theatre in Petersborough Closes Amidst Funding Gap

The Key Theatre in Peterborough has officially closed, after it was projected to lose about £300,000 in 2021-22.

A proposal was made last month to close the theatre and temporarily suspend public access to Werrington Leisure Centre at Ken Stimpson Community School.

However, the council's Deputy Leader Councillor Steve Allen has assured residents that every effort will be made to get the theatre and leisure facilities back up and running as quickly as possible.

Already the council has approved £9.5million of savings in the next financial year with a second set of proposals due to be published in January which will look to close the £26million budget gap altogether. In addition, it has just published an Improvement Plan which sets out steps the council will take to reach a stable financial position while still delivering quality vital services for residents.

As a result, the Key Theatre closed on Monday 17 January. People who have tickets for performances after this date will be issued a refund. Public access to Werrington Leisure Centre ceased from 1 January. Access to outdoor sports pitches will remain.

These decisions are expected to save the council £150,000 in the first six months of 2022 alone.

Consultation will now begin with staff affected at the Key Theatre. If the proposal proceeds, every effort will be made to redeploy staff and reduce the number of redundancies. Staff at the leisure centre will be redeployed elsewhere.

Deputy Leader of Peterborough City Council, Councillor Steve Allen, said: "This is not the kind of announcement that I or any of my colleagues want to be making, but it is essential that we make proposals such as this if we are to get the council's finances on a more stable footing. We have said for some time that we face some difficult decisions on our road to achieving financial sustainability, however we will continue to look for ways to reopen these facilities as soon as possible. We are obtaining a commercial value for sale of the Key Theatre and are also in preliminary discussions with a number of interested parties.

"In the current financial year, both these facilities are forecast to make a significant loss and we cannot afford to let that continue. Ticket sales at the Key Theatre are significantly below forecast overall and income this year has been hampered by the theatre having to close for periods and to operate in a Covid-safe way at other times.

"We cannot operate services that generate a financial deficit and expect our communities to accept it. That is money we could be using to provide services for those in real need and to get us to a point where we can meet service demand with the money we have available each year.

"Our city has a bright future - there are so many examples of this, for example at Fletton Quays and the new university. We want to see the city continue to prosper and grow, but first we must resolve our financial situation."

In the current financial year the Key Theatre is forecast to make a loss in the region of £300,000.

The Key Youth Theatre (KYT) is home to a large number of vibrant and talented young people who meet at workshop sessions throughout the year. These sessions are overseen by a team of professional actors and workshop leaders who work with the children to ensure that everyone has a fantastic experience. KYT, presented by Kindred Drama and City Culture Peterborough offers young people, aged 18 months - 18+ years, the opportunity to both develop their performance skills and build their confidence.

Learn more at https://cityculturepeterborough.org.uk/key-theatre.

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