Councillors who voted to scrap plans for a new cinema in Newton Abbot have been told they risk costing the town £10 million in lost revenue as well as turning away 30 to 40 new jobs. And they have been accused of breaking their own rules in the process.
Teignbridge Council’s Conservative group leader Phil Bullivant (Bradley) gave council officers and Liberal Democrat members of the executive committee a lengthy grilling over a decision to spend £70,000 on fresh proposals for the town’s filmgoers because the circumstances were ‘exceptional.’
A previous meeting heard that the new cinema plan was a ‘dead duck,’ and councillors decided to reject it and press on instead with making better use of the existing Alexandra Theatre as part of a package of measures funded by the government’s levelling up project. But Cllr Bullivant queried whether the circumstances really were exceptional, and said the matter had been on the table for years.
Try DevonLive Premium for FREE with no intrusive ads and brilliant new features
Speaking at an overview and scrutiny committee meeting, he went on: “During that time we have constantly had prevarication, amendments and changes that have stopped us delivering for the people of Newton Abbot.
“And I am very concerned that they are going to pay a huge price for this – a price of over £10 million. With a town with falling footfall, desperate to get people in, we can’t afford to lose that sort of investment in our town centre. I don’t think people should be asked to pay £10 million in lost revenue or give up 30 to 40 jobs in one of the most deprived areas in Devon. “And people still want the cinema.”
Cllr Bullivant, supported by six other Tory councillors, had ‘called in’ the decision to spend the £70,000. He said the decision, taken in October, exceeded the executive’s powers, and the use of funds did not represent good value.
He said scrapping the controversial plan for a new four-screen cinema – described by critics as looking like a ‘shipping container’ – would cost the town £10million in income, and jobs would also be lost. “The implications are extremely serious for the people of Newton Abbot,” he said.
He also questioned the process in deciding to spend the £70,000 on the next stage. “The constitution has a series of requirements, none of which have been adhered to,” he said.
But Liberal Democrat deputy council leader Richard Keeling (Chudleigh) hit back: “The executive have to make difficult decisions at difficult times. We take those decisions within the constitution always. “The executive worked within the law, and within the constitution.”
And council leader Martin Wrigley (Lib Dem, Dawlish NE) added: “Everything we did was done correctly. I think we did exactly the right thing.” The overview and scrutiny committee voted unanimously to discuss it all again at a full council meeting in January because it is “a matter of significance for the whole district.”
