TEST Valley Borough Council and Cricklade College are deep in negotiations over the future of the Andover theatre - and there is hope that a solution could be close.

Leisure chief Ian McKie said this week: "The council is hopeful that we will agree on terms for the transfer of ownership to the council."

If the council does end up owning the theatre it plans to invest a 'significant sum of money' to modernise the complex and turn it into a conference and entertainment centre.

Mr McKie said the aim would be to create a flexible space to provide facilities for activities like dances, conferences and art exhibitions as well as theatre and concerts.

The negotiations are part of a wider process taking in the possibility of a new multi-screen cinema and a feasibility study looking into ways of turning the Guildhall into a lively centre without undermining the building's historic status.

At the moment the council has put in a bid for Heritage Lottery funding for a feasibility study, and if that is successful officers will be hoping for a lottery grant of up to £500,000 to 'restore and regenerate' the Guildhall.

Mr McKie was answering those who have either criticised the council for getting its priorities wrong or argued that it should not be getting involved in quality-of-life issues at all but should stick to its core functions.

There has, for example, been criticism of the proposed Time Ring Festival costing £26,000.

But the council believes it will not only be good for the town's economy, by attracting people back into the High Street, but also provide a focal point over the months for social cohesion.

It's hoped the festival will help people lock into the history of the town to create a kind of collective memory. "Andover is a progressive, prosperous market town with its industrial estates and jobs, but do we really appreciate where we come from?

It's a fascinating history," enthused Mr McKie. He drew a parallel between private and council budgets which both have to spend money on the necessities of life but also try to keep some money for leisure activities. "Because that's what makes life worthwhile," he added.

Criticisms that Andover is a cultural desert in terms of the facilities it provides for the arts have been taken on board by the council.

And it believes that public art is not only valuable in itself but helps create the right atmosphere for potential inward investors. The same twin justification of council policy is true, says Mr McKie, for venues like Cricklade Theatre, the Guildhall and the work going on to clinch a multi-screen theatre.