COUNCILLORS will discuss plans to extend the lease on the Lichfield Garrick theatre.
Lichfield District Council's cabinet will hear about the proposals at a meeting this evening (2nd June).
Talks have been ongoing between the local authority and Lichfield Garrick Theatre Ltd over an application for a potential Community Asset Transfer (CAT) of the freehold.
But discussions over responsibility for maintenance – which could top £1.2million in the next five years have seen proposals drawn up to a 25-year lease extension instead.
A report to the cabinet meeting said:
"The proposed CAT would allow the Garrick venue to continue operating independently. The charity highlights that, to secure the venue’s long-term future, it must expand seating capacity and create new learning and participation spaces within the next five to ten years.
"A recent feasibility study, jointly funded with Lichfield District Council, sets out options to achieve this.
"While the council cannot currently lead this work, transferring the building’s freehold would give the charity the security needed to pursue external funding for these developments.
"The proposal identifies, of urgent concern, from a Lichfield District Council-commissioned planned preventative maintenance inspection almost £1million of essential maintenance required within the next one to five years due to ageing mechanical and electrical infrastructure. Delivered in a single phase, these business-critical works are estimated at £1.225 million including contingency and inflation.
"Through the proposal, the charity’s trustees stated a willingness to take on freehold ownership and all future repair and insurance responsibilities, confident in their management capacity to deliver both immediate and longer-term improvements.
"However, they also stated they cannot meet the existing maintenance backlog and costs. They therefore request that any CAT is linked to Lichfield District Council funding the essential maintenance identified in its report, ensuring the building can be transferred in a sustainable condition.
"Through discussion, the Garrick Board indicated that it would not support a freehold or long‑term transfer that involved assuming responsibility for the existing maintenance backlog without any capital contribution from the council, or short‑term or insecure arrangements that would not satisfy the requirements of major external funders or provide confidence to trustees.
"Fortunately, following further negotiation, both parties have converged on a pragmatic and mutually acceptable solution."
The new proposals would see a 25-year extension of the current lease – which runs until 2029 – at a peppercorn rent, with a shared responsibility for repairs.
The council will also provide a £100,000 contribution to the maintenance liabilities identified in the recent assessment, as well as confirming a £75,000 a year funding budget for three years.
The report added:
"Both parties have agreed to this long‑term lease solution that secures the Garrick for community benefit, enables external funding opportunities and brings financial and legal clarity to the council’s future liabilities.
"This agreed approach is therefore recommended to cabinet as the most proportionate, sustainable and legally robust outcome."
