Council abandons approved plans for Marian St Theatre

$1.7 million spent on planning and consultation is at risk as the Marian St redevelopment approval has been allowed to lapse, despite ongoing community support.

On Tuesday, 16 June, Ku-ring-gai Council voted to allow the Development Application for Marian St Theatre to lapse after more than 13 years of closure and over $1.7 million of public investment in planning, consultation and design.

The decision abandons the only approved pathway to restoring a performing arts venue in Ku-ring-gai, despite years of community advocacy and an approved design by leading theatre architects Tonkin Zulaikha Greer. Council staff noted during deliberations that alternative performing arts venues were unlikely to be delivered in the medium term and, likely, at a similar cost to Marian St Theatre, dependent on scope.

Marian St Theatre Action Chair Jessica Blaxland Ashby said the vote represented another costly delay after more than two decades of reports, studies and consultation:

After more than 20 years of reports, studies and consultation, the community didn’t need another delay. The reason costs have increased is due to Council inaction. Now, there are further delays. That means further cost escalations.

The decision comes shortly after scrutiny of Normal Griffiths Oval, where the original $3 million estimate for synthetic turf escalated to $20 million, a cost increase supported by Councillors Ward, Smith, Devlin, and Wheatley – the same Councillors who refused to support $100,000 for Marian St Theatre due to cost.

The approved redevelopment would have transformed Marian St Theatre into a contemporary Arts Centre with purpose-built spaces for theatre, music, dance, exhibitions, and community events, filling an urgent gap in local infrastructure.

The decision comes amid continued investment in sporting infrastructure. Ku-ring-gai has 44 sports fields, 67 tennis courts, two golf courses and recently spent $26.6 million on two basketball courts inside a school. By comparison, the municipality has one small visual arts centre. More Australians attend live performances each year than all major sporting codes combined.

The vote was also made despite the Council’s Arts and Cultural Community Reference Committee identifying arts and cultural venues as a key priority, and the committee was not consulted on the plans to abandon the designs.

Despite the decision, the campaign continues. A petition currently before the NSW Parliament calls on the NSW Government to work with Ku-ring-gai Council to reopen Marian St Arts Centre within three years.

The tragedy is not that Marian St couldn’t be saved. The tragedy is that it was ready.

For Jessica Blaxland Ashby, the decision is personal. Her grandmother, Audrey Blaxland, founded Marian St Theatre for Young People, and her three-year-old daughter represents the fourth generation of her family connected to the theatre.

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