TOWN hall chiefs have approved pot of cash to support amateur theatre groups.

Bolton’s drama community had feared it could be priced out of hiring the Albert Halls after a hike in charges following its multi-million pound refurbishment.

A further blow came when HMRC confirmed that, while the hire of theatre was exempt from VAT, any additional services provided were not.

There were concerns this could put the venue beyond the reach of amateur groups, and the Albert Halls could suffer a loss of revenue as a result.

But acting council leader Linda Thomas has now rubber-stamped a proposal to create a £50,000 Community Hires Fund to ease the financial burden.

The fund will offer eligible organisations a discount on fees and charges equivalent to one free performance in any 12-month period.

A council spokesman said: “We welcome community groups who wish to use the Albert Halls as their venue, however, we are unable to offer any direct subsidy. Recent changes introduced by HMRC regarding the payment of VAT on venue hire will no doubt have an impact on those groups. Therefore, we have agreed to launch a new £50,000 discretionary fund for the next two years so we can continue to help community groups access the facilities at the Albert Halls.”

Paul Cohen, chairman of Bolton Amateur Theatre Society, said the creation of the fund was a welcome step.He said: “Anything we get extra is good news, if it means we can knock something off the bill. But it still remains that the 20 per cent VAT will cause us an issue and could put people’s bills through the roof.”

Mr Cohen added that groups a clear figure would not emerge until the bill comes in for Farnworth Performing Arts Company’s production of Annie in April. He said: “It’s very positive, it’s what we wanted, certainly all the campaigning we’ve done over the last few weeks certainly seems to have paid off.

“Until April we still don’t know if the 20 per cent off is going to have a big impact on the final bill. But it’s good we are back in there, that’s the key thing, that we are back there and providing entertainment."