Big questions are being asked over whether St Andrews University’s planned takeover of the Byre Theatre will actually benefit the town.
The decision to favour the university was taken by Fife Council’s executive committee three weeks ago.
Now, in a letter to Keith Winter, executive director, environment, enterprise and communities, at Fife Council, Tay Bridgehead councillor Tim Brett has raised his worries over people still being able to make use of the theatre.
However, a top council official says the theatre will carry on as a publicly available facility if the university takes over.
Mr Brett said: “Have discussions taken place with Creative Scotland about the proposed transfer of the theatre to the university? As I understand it, they need to give agreement before this can take place because of the funding they put in to the theatre.
“Would it be sensible to have a valuation of the theatre undertaken at this stage? I know that more than £4 million of public money went into the theatre and there might be value in establishing its current value.
“As you are also probably aware, a significant amount of St Andrews Common Good funding went into the Byre project. It would be helpful to clarify exactly how much.
“If and when the building is sold to the university, will this money be refunded to the St Andrews Common Good Fund?”
Mr Brett added: “I note the proposal is for the university to have a 25-year lease.
“Can I suggest that it would be sensible to have a review of the current arrangements after, say, three or five years rather than have such a long lease?
“Community involvement is absolutely critical if the local community have confidence in the new arrangements.
“It will also be important that the university demonstrates they are taking on board and acting upon views made by the community.
“It is also not clear to me who will actually do the programming for events at the theatre. Will this be the responsibility of the theatre manager?
“In addition, given the comments that have been made by Equity, is there funding in the university’s business plan to actually put on productions or will the theatre simply be made available to other groups to put on their own productions?
“Who exactly do we think will put on the pantomime at Christmas if there is no budget for doing this?”
Mr Winter told The Courier: “I can confirm I’ve received Councillor Brett’s email and intend to respond to him on the points he raises but would add detailed discussions are still ongoing with all partners at this stage.
“The matter was given a full debate at executive committee and since the decision that the university should be the preferred bidder to operate the Byre, the council has been working together with both the university and Creative Scotland to finalise the specific terms of the lease.
“We will ensure the Byre will continue to function as a public arts facility, delivering a high-quality cultural programme and providing ongoing access to a wide range of community arts and theatre groups.”