Council's Tory group slams plans for Cultural Hub in Melton

The theatre’s owners, Loughborough College Group, are to partner with the borough council on establishing the hub at the Stockyard site, with provision for performing arts studies there and theatre performances.

It follows a public consultation launched by the college group in search of new owners and investors for its college campus and theatre site which it says are no longer viable for it to continue to run without financial support.

A plan has been submitted to take over the theatre as a community-owned asset with local shareholders and grant funding.

And Loughborough College Group say it is still committed to engaging with interested parties on the Asfordby Road campus and theatre site despite the announcement of the new Cultural Hub plan.

The Conservative group on Melton Borough Council has slammed the plans for the hub and is unhappy that £2M levelling up funding was diverted from the theatre site to be used in the Stockyard cultural proposal.

Councillor Ronan Browne, Tory leader on the borough council, said the repurposing of the funding was a ‘a panic move dressed up as vision’.

He said: “For over a year, we’ve urged the Labour-Independent coalition to take arts and culture seriously. We warned them the theatre project was on shaky ground. We asked for a plan.

"What we got instead was silence, until the money was about to vanish.

"Now, in a last-minute scramble, they’ve conjured up a ‘Cultural Hub’ that’s little more than a couple of tarted-up rooms and a press release.”

Councillor Browne continued: “This isn’t strategy. It’s salvage. There’s no roadmap, no operational model, no engagement with the people who’ve built Melton’s creative life. Just a vague promise and a hope no one looks too closely. Residents are being asked to accept a downgrade and call it progress.”

Council leader, Councillor Pip Allnatt, said: “I know that everyone will feel sad that a building with so many fond memories is likely to close but a theatre is not just a building.

"It is a living embodiment of our social and cultural heritage which provides opportunities for career pathways, creative endeavours and just fun.

“Therefore, the council has moved quickly to work with the College to preserve these opportunities.

“That is why I am excited about the potential development of a Cultural Hub at the Stockyard.

“We are committed to working with Loughborough College Group as well as our local communities and cultural organisations to turn this concept into a reality and continue to offer high quality Performing Arts education in Melton Mowbray.

“Having this facility will provide excellent opportunities for young people to access inspiring cultural activities, supporting them to achieve their aspirations and engage with a rich, creative curriculum.”

On the consultation exercise over the college campus and theatre site, Loughborough College Group reiterared that it ‘will continue to work with key partners on the future of the current Melton Theatre site and are exploring all viable options for its redevelopment’.