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Ryde Theatre is facing a brighter future with news that a sale has been agreed.
The Isle of Wight Council is set to receive £400,000, which is the best offer the authority had received during a period of marketing the listed building on Lind Street.
In January 2009, a council report found that the building needed at least £1.8m spent on it to bring it up to an acceptable standard.
An agreement has now been signed under delegated powers with the new owners, who are said to still want to keep the building as a live music venue for the time being - with associated "complementary uses" - and for as long as is commercially viable. They will also re-open and operate the nearby Lind Street toilets at their own cost.
The Town Hall, part of which is currently used for storage, is also being sold as part of the arrangement. The local authority expects to clear the building and give vacant possession of the entire building before 31 December 2012.
The new owners are said to be happy to allow for continued public access to the building's organ, which is protected by a covenant.
The details of the new owners are not yet being released as, under a technicality, the delegated decision could still be called in for scrutiny by councillors.
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