The mothballed Marian Street Theatre is set to be stripped of the “community land” status that protects it from being sold, with proponents of the move denying it is a precursor to any potential sale.
What happened: The historic theatre, in Killara, has been shut since 2013. Ku-ring-gai Council, as owner of the site, has been reluctant to redevelop the arts space, but a passionate local community group has continued to search for ways to fund a revival.
In the 13 years since it first shut, the vacant site has not been able to be sold off by council due to its status as community land.
On Tuesday evening, councillors voted 6 – 4 to strip the site of this status, converting it to operational land and opening a pathway to a potential sale.
What that means: In New South Wales, public land owned by a local council falls into two categories: community and operational.
Community land such as parks, community centres or sports grounds, is land reserved for public use which cannot be sold. While it can be leased out, there are strict requirements on this, such as limits on lease terms, continued equal access to the land or broad approval from the community.
For example, a council may let a cafe operate out of a park, or a bowling club use its greens.
Operational land is managed more like private property. It can be used for the day-to-day functions of a council — depots, garages, paid parking — and may not be open to the public. It can be leased out much more easily, and can be sold.
Why the change: Councillors Sam Ngai and Martin Smith brought forward Tuesday night’s motion, and argued the lease restrictions on community land could impede on getting a private operator in to run the place. They specified the 30 year limit on lease terms dictated for community land.
Ngai and Smith previously voted for council to ditch its plans to redevelop Marian Street Theatre, and to “explore opportunities for larger and potentially more cost-effective venues”.
The two movers grew defensive when asked by Councillor Balachandran if the motion was a precursor to sell the theatre.
“I think the motion is pretty clear, and if you read it, you probably wouldn’t have asked that question”, Smith said, while Ngai claimed he felt the question was “some sort of weird entrapment”.
Before the land is reclassified, the decision will go out for public exhibition, where locals can have their say on the matter.
Thumbnail: Marian Street Theatre, Wesley Tingey via Unsplash