BASILDON'S Towngate Theatre could be expanded to get a few hundred extra seats, the new local council leader has said.

Basildon Borough Council is considering the options to increase capacity at the venue, according to Andy Barnes, the new Conservative council leader.

The proposal is a response to previous plans for a proposed 3,500-seat arena put forward by the previous council leader, Labour's Gavin Callaghan.

The new administration is dismissive of the arena proposal but Cllr Barnes said he recognised that the Towngate Theatre was "really popular" and said he had tasked officers with drawing up a revamp plan for it.

He said: "We're going to do it up and make it better for people, make it suitable for the next 20 to 30 years, and hopefully people can continue enjoying it going forward. We are looking at what sort of work it potentially needs; it certainly needs to be spruced up and made to look a bit nicer. Certainly, the Towngate is going to look better than it has done previously."

Cllr Barnes, who represents the Billericay ward, added that he thought the size of the theatre did "slightly limit" the kind of acts it can have, saying: "I don't think it would be a bad idea if we could get a couple more hundred seats in there, that would be fantastic. It needs to be up and running this year."

A market analysis report commissioned by the previous Labour administration for "an events venue in Basildon Town Centre to replace the existing Towngate Theatre," stated that there was "a clear opportunity to deliver a more dynamic and scalable cultural offer" than was currently available at the theatre.

At the time, the Labour administration used the report to push for a new arena to be built in the town, but the new Tory leadership has suggested it could scrap these plans if they are found not to be financially viable.