Nearly £20m has been poured into Basildon's ailing Towngate Theatre since it was built, it has emerged.

The theatre, which has been shut since 1998, costs Basildon Council around £1m a year in loan repayments, running costs and grants.

However, the cost could be an underestimate, since the council refuses to dig out budget records dating back to the theatre's inception in 1988.

Talks with firms interested in taking over the Towngate are also in limbo, with no active negotiations underway.

Malcolm Buckley, Conservative group leader, said he was appalled at how much the theatre had cost the authority.

He said: "The reality is that Basildon cannot afford a theatre of that quality and specifications. We would have had more than £18m to spend - what would that have done for the community over the last 12 or 13 years?

"At some point we have to say enough is enough."

Basildon Council is spending £953,000 on the theatre in 2002/3. It will continue to make similar annual repayments until 2005/6.

However, a spokesman for the council added: "The above figures are readily available in the council's accounts."

Nigel Smith, cabinet member for community and leisure, said Towngate was still being used nearly every day by community groups in the town.

He said: "It is not an albatross, it is an opportunity. A lot of people dearly love and value the Towngate."

Geoff Williams, leader of the council's Liberal Democrat group, said the repayment figure had been known to the council from the outset.

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Published Wednesday, March 20, 2002