By Staff Reporter

Last updated at 13:23, Monday, 01 October 2012

A couple whose family have run Keswick’s famous Lakeside Tea Gardens for nearly a quarter of a century fear they will be forced out of business to make way for an expansion of the neighbouring Theatre by the Lake.

The lease which Stephen and Dina Goodwill hold with site owners Allerdale council for the prime waterfront location runs out on October 31, 2013. This means next summer will be their last season if it is not renewed.

Plans were first published in 2004 showing how the theatre would like to build a second venue adjoining its current site. The proposal, which includes an additional stage and lakeview restaurant, sparked great controversy and debate.

The Goodwills’ concerns as tenants has grown since they were ordered to switch their quarterly lease payments into the bank account for Cumbria Theatre Trust, which operates the theatre, instead of into Allerdale’s public purse. The trust, which is a charity, now holds the head lease on the site.

The theatre has been a massive success since it opened in 1999, attracting audiences of up to 130,000 people a year and bringing in about £3 million a year to the local economy.

The tea gardens, which have operated since 1928, can seat 240 customers in a mixture of indoor and outdoor accommodation. It has only ever been run by three family businesses, including the Goodwills for the last 24 years.

Mr Goodwill said the uncertainty about the site’s future was causing major problems for the family-run business and its staff of 10. His view is that the theatre will be allowed to take over the lease next year and that it will run the tea gardens itself until sufficient funding can be secured to finance the construction of a second theatre to run alongside the current one.

He said: “The people of Keswick and the visitors to the lake don’t want the tea gardens knocked down but I think that’s what will happen once the theatre has got the money for its plans. We certainly don’t want to go. This is a historic building in Keswick and is a big part of people’s visit.”

Mrs Goodwill said: “It is stressful for us and for the staff. We are in limbo and we can’t do a thing.”

Patric Gilchrist, the theatre’s executive director, said: “Cumbria Theatre Trust hasn’t come to any decision about what options it might take. There are no plans for a major redevelopment at present. Our priority is raising money for more activities, not for capital.”

First published at 11:26, Monday, 01 October 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk