Council steps in as venue fails to pull in acts

The leader of a Yorkshire council has spoke of his grave disappointment that operators of a showpiece coastal venue have not secured enough big name acts.

Coun Tom Fox said Scarborough Council would step in and host shows at the Open Air Theatre alongside Apollo Leisure after the company failed to release a line-up for 2012 despite pressure from the authority.

Expressing anger over the delay, the leader has described it as “unacceptable” and has launched an action plan in an attempt to salvage the coming season at the £3.5m venue, which was opened by the Queen in May 2010.

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“Our discussions with Apollo suggest they are planning a very limited number of major attractions for the 2012 season which is very disappointing,” he said. “We have made it abundantly clear that the proposed outline programme and their delay in making announcements are not acceptable.”

Apollo Leisure sparked confusion last week when a list of top acts for this year, including the English National Ballet, were seen on the entertainment company’s website.

When approached by the Yorkshire Post, however, Apollo’s chairman Paul Gregg admitted the company had made a mistake and the official programme would not be revealed until the end of this month.

Coun Fox announced plans were being put in place to allow the venue to be used more by the community after expressing concerns Apollo had failed to stick to this objective despite an agreement being made at the start of the contract. The council has also asked the company to draw up a business plan which would prove acts required additional permanent seating and a stage extension, after Apollo claimed this was the reason it had failed to attract high profile performers.

The authority is looking to purchase stage and lighting equipment to then rent to Apollo.