CHRIS Bassett, Malvern Theatre Players chairman, said that he felt an obsessive level of secrecy surrounding discussions about the theatres' future had caused a vacuum.

He said that while their amateur production company must remain neutral as to who manages the venue, he would want back the money that he has donated to theatre funds if the Ambassadors Theatre Group took over.

The financial situation was nothing new, he said, and in the past Malvern people and sponsors had spent millions to keep the theatres going.

"However this is the first time that it has really been taken by the scruff of the neck and elevated to a higher level," he said.

"It is inevitable that that has cost money. Should all that money now be handed over to a cash operator whose only interest must be to make money?

"Are we going to get our money back if it goes commercial?"

He suggested that Malvern people could fundraise again to pay back the present debt and allow the present management team to complete its 10-year plan.

With regard to the local group of players he said they would feel vulnerable if a commercial operator were to take over, and doubted that they would be able to continue thriving as they do now.

He also felt that the Forum was very much Malvern's own public space, in the absence of a town hall.