Council payout to theatre sparks politicians' dispute

The leader of the opposition at Stockton Borough Council has expressed reservations about the authority's commitment to contribute £220,000 a year to the town's Arc theatre.

Conservative councillor Stephen Smailes will use tonight's full council meeting to argue that the money could instead be used to provide community wardens for every area of the borough.

He said: "I will be seeking assurances that the £220,000 a year will be the end of it.

"I'm sure the ordinary taxpayer would rather the money be spent on community wardens to combat anti-social behaviour in every ward, and that amount of extra money should be enough to do that."

Coun Smailes cited the extra £20,000 contributed by the council to this summer's International Riverside Festival as an example of how budgets could dramatically increase.

However, Labour leader Councillor Bob Gibson hit back, saying Coun Smailes had underestimated the costs of employing community wardens.

He said: "It's plain wrong to say that the £220,000 would pay for wardens in each ward, that would cost between £900,000 and £1m.

"The fact is that every theatre is subsidised and, if you look at theatres around the region, £220,000 is extremely good value.

"Even the Forum at Billingham is subsided by about £500,000 and that is well appreciated by the people of the town.

"It is never as simple as saying, 'well, we'll take money off the theatre to pay for wardens,' or whatever.

"You have to take into account the fact that, if we contribute to the theatre, the community gains massive investment from the Arts Council and other bodies.

"Coun Smailes often wants spending reduced but services increased at the same time.

"As far as the Riverside Festival goes, more than 200,000 people have come into the town, which shows that people appreciate live theatre."

The £9.5m Dovecot Street Arc theatre opened in 1999 but closed two years later because of debts. A consortium of businessman re-opened the venue earlier this year