Fears venue could close due to funding issues

A Guernsey cultural venue will only survive for another year unless additional funding is found, the team running the site said.

St James in St Peter Port, which hosts events including concerts, said it had been unsuccessful in securing the funding it wanted in the upcoming budget.

An amendment to the budget has been put forward by Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen, chair of the Committee for Education, Sport and Culture, to request £151,000 additional funding from reserves to keep the venue open.

Jon Bisson, director of St James, said the team would have to "tread very carefully" if it did not get extra funding and the venue faced the prospect of closing.

St James opened in 1818 as a chapel for Elizabeth College but became redundant in 1970.

An association was set up in 1981 to turn the building into a concert and assembly hall and the venue officially reopened four years later.

The venue currently receives a grant of £63,500 from the States, but the team running the site said this needs to be increased to £215,000 in order to continue operating.

Mr Bisson said factors like the coronavirus pandemic had impacted the venue.

He added without the additional funding, the 2025 schedule would be a "St James light" programme.

Mr Bisson said: "I think that we would have about another year left with the reserves that we've got.

"We can't trade if we're not in liquidity so we can't raise debt or borrow money, so we have to tread very carefully."

Ms Dudley-Owen said she thought the venue was a "vital" facility which should be kept open.

She said she appreciated the States' finances were not in a good position for a number of reasons, but having venues like St James was important to the island.

"It's uplifting, it's heart-warming, it's absolutely essential for our wellbeing," Ms Dudley-Owen said.

Deputies will start debating the 2025 budget on 5 November with a vote expected to be held later in the week.

The States of Guernsey has been approached for comment.

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