THE government is yet to sign a lease with the company due to take over Jersey Opera House months before the building is due to re-open after a £12.7 million restoration project.
Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel confirmed on Wednesday that a lease had still not been signed with Jersey Opera House Ltd even as the building was officially handed over.
An anonymous source told the JEP that the company has delayed signing the lease due to concerns that the building is “not fit for purpose” and that millions more might be needed.
Asked about the lease at a media event on 15 January, Deputy Morel said: “We’re just talking through that at the moment. So those are ongoing talks, but that’s coming to a conclusion at the moment.”
Asked when he expected the lease to be signed, he said: “In the coming weeks, I think. I don’t have a particular time, it’s not something that I’m in charge of.
“It’s not our department that’s in charge of that. But I do know that their talks are quite happy carrying on at the moment.”
The theatre’s interim director, Andy Eagle, had not responded to requests for comment by the time the JEP went to print yesterday. But speaking to the JEP in November, he said that while the work on the Opera House so far was “brilliant”, it had not included upgrades that were needed to stage “good shows” at the venue.
“What they haven’t done is incorporate some of the things that we use as an operating theatre in order to put on really good shows,” Mr Eagle told this newspaper.
Asked about who would pay for ongoing maintenance of the building, Jersey Opera House Ltd or the government, Deputy Morel said that money was being set aside by Jersey Property Holdings to pay for any issues that might arise.
“The truth is, a building of this type and this age, maintenance problems can occur over 20 years I’m talking about here,” he said.
“Obviously we can expect very few at the beginning of the period but as hundreds of people come in and out, as thousands of people come in and out over time, there will be some maintenance issues.
“What we want to make sure is that we’re not in a situation where it’s deteriorated to the level that it had previously. And that’s why we’re setting aside money to make sure the Property Holdings can do the maintenance as and when required.”
Deputy Morel also appeared to confirm the claims of a source who told the JEP that the government had opted not to install a seating system that could be converted into a standing space to make it more viable for a greater number of shows and concerts.
“We did have a conversation very briefly, probably a year or so ago, about the possibility of having [that]. It didn’t fit part of that project,” he said.
“That’s a conversation the Opera House can have in the coming years. We can invest more over time, or they can invest more over time.”
He said that JOH was a private company and “if they want to invest in elements that enhance the Opera House, they’re very welcome to.
“But […] it was seen as, that would be an extra cost that wouldn’t necessarily [be paid for] by new revenues. So that [is something] for the Opera House management to decide in the future.”
