An ambitious plan to wrest control of the beleaguered Meteor Theatre away from Hamilton City Council and place it firmly in the hands of Hamilton's arts community has been hatched.

The so-called ''Meteor Proposal'' would a charitable trust  formed and the Council would lease the theatre back to the trust on a peppercorn rent, who would take over running it.

Outlining the plan at a public meeting planned at the theatre on Thursday night will be Charlotte Isaac, a member of Hamilton's theatre scene since the 1990s.

''I think the Meteor is a fabulous and unique building, but the problem is a lot of people can't afford to use it,'' Ms Isaac said.

The full-day hire rate of the theatre - before concession - is $800. The hire fee is $536 for a half day and $600 for a non- performance day.

''We believe Hamilton audiences could be developed at the Meteor and it is difficult for this to happen currently.

''There is no consistency of regular usage so people don't automatically look to the Meteor for their entertainment on a Friday night as they do with other theatres such as Bats theatre in Wellington or Q or the Silo in Auckland.

''Visitors to Hamilton cannot automatically find an inner city theatre for their entertainment.

''We feel the theatre is under-utilised and what we are offering is a proactive and final solution to a long-standing issue.''

The plan would not cost the council any money, she said.

''We understand council are undertaking a review of the theatres and in our view our proposal fits perfectly into that review as a win-win solution for the running of the Meteor.''

The public meeting will be held on Thursday at 6.30pm at The Meteor, Victoria Street, Hamilton.

Details: Facebook/TheMeteor/Proposal

- © Fairfax NZ News

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