WAVERLEY councillors have agreed to set aside up to £750,000 to help fund a planned £2.1 million refurbishment of the Maltings - providing the arts and community venue can find the rest of the money.
The councilÕs ruling executive body agreed the conditional funding this week, and it is almost certain to be ratified by the full council.
The backing is part of the Maltings ÒPlan BÓ for refurbishment after its bid for £2 million National Lottery funding for a £4-5 million refurbishment was rejected. Waverley had agreed to grant the Maltings £1 million for that scheme, providing the lottery bid had succeeded.
Now the council is supporting this scaled-down project, described by the Maltings as Phase One of its much-needed facelift for the most used parts of the building: the entrance, lobby and box office, foyer, West and East Wings, Great Hall and the bar. The money will also pay for soundproofing.
WaverleyÕs contribution will be the biggest, with the Maltings hoping to raise £700,000 from trusts and foundations and £470,000 through individuals. Farnham Town Council and South East Arts will contribute £100,000 each.
Members of the executive were keen to stress to the Maltings, which attracts 300,000 visitors a year, that the £750,000 is a one-off maximum.
Jean Mansley (Conservative, Haslemere North and Grayswood) said the MaltingsÕs fund-raising estimates were optimistic.
ÒI can tell you that raising money is darn difficult. They want to raise £700,000 from trusts and foundations, but I can tell them that we wrote to trusts and foundations (on another matter) and they said they didnÕt want to know, weÕre in the wrong area.Ó
To help the Maltings try to reach its fund-raising targets, WaverleyÕs executive also agreed to loan the Maltings £50,000, without interest, over a five-year period, to pay for a fundraiser.