Concert hall lease stymied

COUNCIL has balked at leasing its Perth Concert Hall for five years because it is not sure the prospective lessee actually exists.

The lease was to go to Ministry for Culture and the Arts for an annual rental of $1 per year but now council is confirming the validity of the lessee.

Councillor Jennifer MacGill raised the question of the Ministry’s existence.

Council actually owns the Perth Concert Hall but most of the money for maintenance on the building has come from the WA Government.

The hall was leased to the Perth Theatre Trust, the body charged with managing theatres in the Perth CBD. The trust has now been absorbed by the Ministry.

Deputy Lord Mayor Michael Sutherland said the lease renewal had been an issue for some time.