Decision details

With the approval of the Chairman of the Communities Scrutiny Committee, the urgency procedure and special urgency procedure have been invoked to suspend the requirement to publish notice of the decision for the full 28 days and to suspend the requirement for a 5-day consideration period. The decision will still be subject to call-in. These procedures have been invoked as the Council has worked hard to identify a temporary operator for the Key Theatre, and Selladoor (the current operator of the New Theatre) are the only party immediately willing and able to fulfil this role. They are in a position, subject to successful lease negotiations, to take over from 1 February, meaning that all existing City Culture staff employed at the Key Theatre would subject to statutory consultation transfer under TUPE legislation resulting in no immediate redundancies, and pre-booked shows would be able to continue uninterrupted. The incumbent caterer Chalkboard Limited would become a sub-tenant of Selladoor. The arrangement with Selladoor will enable PCC to consider all options for the future of the premises and develop a viable business plan.

The Cabinet Member approved the award of a Lease to Selladoor Venue Development Ltd (operators of the New Theatre Peterborough) to operate the Key Theatre for a period of 5 years, with annual break clauses, from 1 February 2022. 

The recommendation to directly award a lease to Selladoor enables the continuation of the Key Theatre, this supports the staff currently employed to work at the Key Theatre and allows theatregoers to continue to access the Key Theatre.  

The recommendation also removes some of the ongoing financial burden of the year-on-year losses incurred by the Key Theatre and supports the very challenging and significant financial challenges which the Council faces.  

The recommendation is also compliant with the HM Government's Procurement Policy Note 02/20: supplier relief due to coronavirus (COVID-19), where an expectation exists for Contracting Authorities to do all that is reasonable and proportionate to prevent businesses or services closing due to the effects of the pandemic. 

Option 1: Continue to operate the Key Theatre – this option is rejected however due to the in-year and forecast future years’ operating losses incurred by the theatre; given the council’s financial position, it is not possible to subsidise these losses, and in fact those losses need to be prevented as swiftly as possible. 

Option 2: Close the Key Theatre - this option is rejected at this time, as an alternative option at no additional cost to the council has emerged.

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