St Mary in the Castle set to close after Trust ends lease with Hastings council

In a statement on the Trust’s website, a spokesperson said: "It is with great sadness that we inform you, that as of November 2022, after a tenancy that has run for nearly ten years, the St Mary in the Castle Charitable Trust will be ending our lease with Hastings Borough Council.

“This means the venue will no longer be operational or open to the public after this time, under this trust.”

The Trust had been relying on subsidies from the council to help recover from a loss of revenue due to the pandemic.

The spokesperson added: “Unfortunately, the trust is unable to recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic without further financial subsidy to allow St Mary in the Castle to return to pre-pandemic operations, we projected this would not be until Spring 2023.

"Any money made from events after covering costs is reinvested into the ongoing maintenance of the building. Since the pandemic we have had fewer venue hires and lower audience numbers, meaning we are unable to cover these costs going forward.

"We have had many communications regarding financial help from Hastings Borough Council and despite providing numerous business plans and financial documents at the request of the council, to this date, they have not formally responded to our request. Having looked at all other funding opportunities to no avail, we now have no choice but to close.”

Anyone who has purchased tickets for events after November is asked to get in touch via the Trust's website to be reimbursed.

A Hastings Borough Council spokesperson said: “We are also very sad to hear the news of the closure of St Mary in the Castle, and we would like to thank the trustees and staff there for their hard work over the years, running a very complex venue during a difficult time. They have provided many years of great entertainment, culture and world class acts for the town and its visitors.

“Hastings Borough Council was keen to help the trustees of St Mary in the Castle reopen after Covid, we met them on a number of occasions and gave them £18,000 last summer. However even this, a grant of just over £50,000 from Arts Council England, and over £87,000 for Covid recovery from the government through Hastings Borough Council appears not to have been enough given the ever increasing costs of running venues.

“The trustees of St Mary in the Castle told us that without more funding they would have to close. Sadly we are now in that position. Hastings Borough Council simply does not have the resources available to support St Mary in the Castle.

“We will now look at all options that don’t involve further funding from the council. We look forward to ideas and conversations from individuals, organisations and companies who can work with the council to provide a first class entertainment venue that can be fully sustainable without sadly any council subsidy.”