Council vows to battle on with Bard project despite setback

It is often said the Bard has an apt phrase for every scenario, and this one from Henry VI Part III sums up West Norfolk Borough Council's attitude as it vows to battle on with plans to create a multimillion pound Shakespeare-themed visitor attraction, despite a significant setback.

The authority learnt this month that its bid for some £3,376,910 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) - to help pay for a £12.2m project to refurbish King's Lynn's St George’s Guildhall - had been turned down.

Now, after being accused of having a “cavalier approach” to public finances, the council says it has budgeted for the project's failure in the immediate term and is focused on seeking alternative sources of funding to ensure the gap is filled.

The authority hopes to transform the 600-year-old venue - at which Shakespeare himself is believed to have once performed - into a global and “immersive” destination for fans of the Bard, with restored Elizabethan features and a new “creative hub”.

William Shakespeare is believed to have performed at the Guildhall of St George (Image: Archant)

But the NLHF said the scheme came with an unacceptably “high risk, particularly in terms of sustainability”.

Asked whether the bid's failure would mean higher council tax for residents, a council spokeswoman responded: “There is currently no plan and no scope to increase council tax as a result of the NLHF decision.”

The council said it had no plan to raise council tax as a result of the bid's failure (Image: Archant)

Pressed on whether a failure to receive those alternative sources of funding could potentially result in the debt needing to be paid back through borrowing, the spokeswoman admitted that there was a possibility that the sum would need to be accounted for by council tax.

She said however that any increase felt by taxpayers would be minimal, because the cost could be spread over a period of 30 years - and repeated that the authority was focused on avoiding that outcome.

The shortfall accounts for about a quarter of the project’s cost - with the remaining three quarters mainly to be funded from Lynn’s £25m Town Deal pot of government cash.

St Georges Guildhall in Kings Lynn is the largest and oldest guildhall in England. Picture: Matthew Usher (Image: Archant)

In a statement this week, the council’s Group of Independents, who form the official opposition on the authority, said they were concerned about “whether the view of the NLHF will be shared by the government and cause them to reconsider their support” for the scheme.

But the council’s spokeswoman said it was not correct that the government could now decide to withhold their portion of the money, based on the NLHF’s lack of confidence in the project.

She said: “The business case has been accepted, the money is secured and will be released to us shortly.”