AFTER 16 years of inspiring and educating youth in the Scenic Rim, Goat Track Theatre will be forced to shut its doors on the mountain.
Thousands of children have benefited from their weekly theatre courses as well as their additional youth programs across the Scenic Rim.
However, after operating under a partnership agreement with Scenic Rim Regional Council since 2009, the council have now abolished the agreement and changed it to a rent arrangement of $43,000 per year.
“A $43,000 overhead would mean the kids would have to pay $700 a year each to cover the rent,” Andrew Wright artistic director of Goat Track Theatre said.
“It’s a pity it has ended this way because it has been an incredible success story.”
Goat Track Theatre has operated from Vonda Youngman Community Centre, taking over what Andrew described as a “big mouldy shed” used for storage by the council.
He said they transformed the space, building walls, putting up curtains, extensive lighting and a kitchen; over time turning it into a theatrette and improving the facility by investing tens of thousands of dollars – all of which they have left behind for the community.
It began, and has continued, as a peppercorn lease with Goat Track accessing funds from various grants which benefitted children in the region through free youth arts programs – one year bringing in $310,000 in grants.
“We have been used by the council for all youth arts projects across the region and in schools bringing young people together,” Andrew explained.
“The idea of the partnership with council was that we could be in there at our own cost to run youth arts programs in the Scenic Rim.
“It’s been successful. We’ve had projects that have taken people from the community to performing in festivals. It’s been a boon for Scenic Rim having a dedicated arts program.
“We have created so many theatre projects, allowing people to develop their social skills and confidence and tell their stories.”
Andrew said it’s a partnership which won them two prestigious Australian Business Arts Foundation Awards, recognising the ingenuity.
“We’ve brough in close to a $1 million in funding for the council over that time, but we haven’t even had a thank you from the council,” he lamented.
“We can’t leverage funds from government without the council’s support.”
Andrew said young children needed not only sporting facilities, but dedicated spaces for the arts.
He said despite negotiating with the council for several years they have been denied an opportunity to sit down with them to put forward their case.
Despite meeting with Mayor Tom Sharp and several councillors Andrew felt they’d had no support.
“I felt Tom believed in what we are doing and what we have done in the community,” Andrew said.
“He said we would get a fair hearing, but this has not been the case.
“I was trying to pay more than what they are asking but in a different way – through youth projects, rather than cash, so the council still get the benefits for the community,” Andrew said.
“I don’t feel like we’ve had a good hearing. We wanted to be able to say, ‘let’s have a conversation about how you can get your $43,000 rent through accessing government funding and bringing projects to the region’.”
A spokesperson for Scenic Rim Regional Council said Goat Track Theatre was a commercial business and not eligible for a renewed lease with council under its Community Tenure over Council Property Policy.
The spokesperson said under Council is required to charge commercial operators market value rent, which had been independently assessed at around $42,000 a year.
However, the spokesperson did not comment on why arrangements that had been in place since 2009 were being changed now.
The spokesperson said the Council would continue to support the arts in the region through their own budget and programs as well as grants.
Andrew assured families currently attending Goat Track Theatre that they would continue to offer classes on a Wednesday from Vonda Youngman until September, however, after that time they were at the mercy of the Council and whether it had found someone to take over that space.
He said he was deeply saddened to be leaving the mountain, which has been the home of the company, and moving to the Gold Coast.
“The reason we have stayed on the mountain is because it’s our home, our community, we wanted our kids to have access to arts and cultural activities,” he explained.
“There are fewer opportunities for children in the region than the Gold Coast.”
