Funding for the planned Q Theatre is up for review today at the Auckland City Council finance and strategy committee meeting. The meeting at the Town Hall at 9.30am on Tuesday is expected to attract a large contingent of the Auckland arts community in support of the project.

The council is reviewing a $4.6 million grant agreed to by the previous council last September but never counter-signed. It is in addition to $4.6 million already allocated.

Part of the new funding is $700,000, which Q Theatre's General Manager Susanne Ritzenhoff says is immediately essential to keep the project going forward with design and consent requirements.

"We are at an essential part of the project. If we can't go full speed ahead now the costs will continue to grow by $1 million a year and we will lose momentum with consultants and supporters."Funding for the planned Q Theatre is up for review today at the Auckland City Council finance and strategy committee meeting. The meeting at the Town Hall at 9.30am on Tuesday is expected to attract a large contingent of the Auckland arts community in support of the project.

The council is reviewing a $4.6 million grant agreed to by the previous council last September but never counter-signed. It is in addition to $4.6 million already allocated.

Part of the new funding is $700,000, which Q Theatre's General Manager Susanne Ritzenhoff says is immediately essential to keep the project going forward with design and consent requirements.

"We are at an essential part of the project. If we can't go full speed ahead now the costs will continue to grow by $1 million a year and we will lose momentum with consultants and supporters."Q Theatre, a new mid-sized flexible performing arts venue to be built at 305 Queen Street next to the Town Hall, is designed to fill the gap in venues left by the loss of the Watershed and Mercury theatres. The projected opening was 2010.

The cost of the Q Theatre has risen from an initial estimate of $9 million in 2004 to a projected cost of $20-$21 million.

Ms Ritzenhoff said the increases were partly due to increased building and consultancy costs including soundproofing between the theatre and the Town Hall green room.

She said the rising costs were fully explored by the previous council when the funding was granted.

In September 2007 the Council's Arts Culture & Recreation committee voted unanimously to recommend an additional $4.6 million funding be granted to Q Theatre. This recommendation was then voted on and passed unanimously by the Finance committee, and then by a full Council forum.

Ms Ritzenhoff said Q Theatre had enjoyed great support from Auckland City Council, through three different administrations since 2000.

"While I understand that Council wishes to review all capital projects in order to make informed decisions about what money it spends, I do hope the Councillors are looking beyond bricks and mortar and asking themselves what type of city and society they want to live in, in 20 years time."

Playwright Roger Hall has written to the Auckland City Council saying there is a huge demand for the performing space that Q will provide.

"The need is great. The Auckland City Council has been enormously supportive of this project. I urge you to continue giving this support to ensure what will be a major asset for the city."

The letter to arts, culture and recreation committee chairman Greg Moyle has been published on the Theatre Review website forum.

Supporters who turned up at the Arts, Culture And Recreation Committee meeting last December (according to council minutes) included Leisha Ward Knox, Paul Ellis, John Verryt, Frith Walker, Fiona Mogridge, Shane Bosher, Ian Hughes, Lucy Wigmore, Mary Jane O'Reilly, R. Bruce Hopkins, Mark Clarke, Jane Clarke, Ben Crowder, Trygue Wakenshaw, Roger Hall, Kylie Aitchison, Elisabeth Vaneveld, Susanne Ritzenhoff, Lisa Bates, Peter Elliott, David Appleby, John Gow, Justin Lewis, Ilona Rodgers and Dolina Wehipeihana.

Finance committee chairman Doug Armstrong told the Herald last week that the strong argument to confirm the previous council's financial commitment to the Q Theatre had to be weighed against the rising cost and other spending priorities.

According to tomorrow's agenda item, council officers have recommended that the previous councils resolution should be confirmed but implementation, including $700,000 funding, be delayed pending

The report said that other theatre groups had questioned the commitment of sections of the arts community to the Q Theatre project.

"Given the costs of providing theatre facilities, it is unlikely that council would consider investing in more than one theatre for some time to come, and it is therefore important that the one that is funded has wide support from the industry and fulfils the needs of as many potential users as possible."

The report says the St James Theatre had been suggested as an alternative but it "would not meet the identified need for a small, flexiform space."

It would cost $10-$50 million with "significant risks" and provisos including the building not meeting seismic strength requirements.

"Officers do not consider the St James a viable alternative to the Q Theatre project."

The report highlighted other costs of the Q Theatre project to the council including operational costs of $350,00-$550,000 per annum, loss of car parking revenue from the theatre site and loss of rent from council buildings to be demolished.

Auckland City Council had agreed to gift the buildings and provide land on a long-term lease. The City committed $ 9.2 million in capital funds, $ 470,000 to date in running costs as well as their agreement in principle to an operational subsidy once the venue opens.

The Q Theatre aim was to raise the balance of funds required from a combination of private donors, community trusts and central government. So far 80 per cent had been raised, including an additional grant of $2.645m from ASB Community Trust in March last year, bringing their total funding of Q Theatre to almost $4.5m, one of the Trust's largest funded projects. See the Q Theatre website timeline for more information.

Image: Architects drawing of Q Theatre frontage

Story: Cathy Aronson, TBI

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11/02/08