Select a region
£2.2m in underspends will be used to make the Opera House "safer" after it lost its stimulus cash - but the Government is still hunting for an extra £500,000 to make the beloved venue "better or more attractive" for theatregoers.
Deputy Kirsten Morel, the Assistant Minister with responsibility for the Arts, said he hopes the extra funding required can be included in the next Government Plan.
Earlier this week, it emerged the renovation of Jersey Opera House would no longer be eligible for the £2.2m grant it had received under the Fiscal Stimulus Fund because the volume and complexity of the required restoration was greater than first anticipated and meant the project wouldn’t be completed on time.
“As I understand it, they have found it's more complex and expensive, and because it's a Listed building and because some of the fixtures and fittings are very old, they have found problems, which mean we have to apply for planning permission for various things as well,” Deputy Morel explained.
“The process that we're in now is taking longer because of things like complications and things like the planning process as well.”
The Treasury Minister agreed to find an alternative source of money and Deputy Morel confirmed yesterday that the funding would be coming from underspends from 2021 and would therefore not affect this year’s budget.
Pictured: Deputy Kirsten Morel and Pierre Horsfall, Chair of the Opera House Board.
However, this money will only cover “health and safety” work on the building and an estimated £500,000 will be required to make “more improvements to create better experience for theatre goers”.
“The building wouldn't have looked nicer as a result of the work, it would have been safer and fit for purpose, but the way I kept seeing it was, we spent £2m and then theatregoers would go in, and they wouldn't see any difference,” Deputy Morel said.
“The extra money is because things like the auditorium does need re-upholstering the seats, things like these. I can't promise it'll be for those seats, but it's to make the building more presentable and a nicer place for theatre goers to go in; because we were in danger, I would have said, of only doing all the health and safety work and nothing to make it a better-looking theatre, which is what the extra money is for.
“The Fiscal Stimulus wouldn't have given us a better or more attractive theatre, it would have just given us a safer theatre.”
But as to where the extra funding will be coming from, Deputy Morel says that, at the moment, he “genuinely doesn’t know”.
“My view is that it could be part of the next Government Plan, or we could look to find it from other underspends somewhere else,” he said.
“For me, because we won't likely need all that money until perhaps the end of this year, I think it probably fit well into the Government plan. It would probably be the easiest, because then it’s set within the budget for next year. But that depends on the next Government.”
Pictured: A funding source has not yet been identified for the extra £500,000.
In addition to identifying a source for the funding, Deputy Morel has asked officers to look at the structure for the theatre as a company to ensure the building is no longer a “burden”.
As he explained, Jersey Opera House Limited has had to use its own funds to carry out maintenance on the building, despite it belonging to the Government of Jersey and being under the responsibility of Jersey Property Holdings.
This, he said, has affected the work they do. “They have had to act in a much, much more commercial manner than I think, as Arts Minister, they should,” he said.
“I would like to see them be able to be really bold and innovative in their programming, and they absolutely are where they can be. But because so much of their budget is being sucked onto patching up the Opera House, they've always had to programme everything with that in mind, because they cannot go into debt.”
“My big dream is to make sure that that building does not impact the work of the Opera House,” he added.
“It's trying to find a way that provides certainty for the Opera House Limited to operate as best it can, without that building just leeching money away from it.”
Hunt for £6m after Opera House and sports projects lose stimulus cash
Time running out for Opera House to use stimulus cash
Opera House team left in the dark over refurb
OPEN LETTER: Do you care about the Jersey Opera House?
OPEN LETTER: Chief Minister, time to act on the Opera House
Stage set for Opera House revamp
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.