THE Eastgate Theatre and Arts Centre in Peebles made a trading loss of over £23,000 last year.

When a write-down of £12,000 for asset depreciation is taken into account, the annual deficit topped £35,000.

And that compares to a surplus of £36,000 the previous year.

The loss is revealed in the venue’s annual accounts for 2012/13 which have now been lodged with Company’s House.

The Eastgate, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary next month, saw its expenditure go up from £456,000 in 2011/12 to £523,000.

Although management and administration costs fell slightly, running costs rocketed from £376,000 to £445,000, despite a 25 per cent increase in the work undertaken by unpaid volunteers.

But contrast, total revenues fell by £5,000 to £487,000, largely due to a drop in “voluntary income” from £95,000 to £48,000. Income generated from ticket sales, hire fees, bar and café sales and programme sales rose from £277,000 to £311,000 and grants increased from £119,000 to £127,000.

The bulk of the vital grant funding comes from cash-strapped Scottish Borders Council which, at its budget meeting yesterday (Thursday), agreed to maintain its annual contribution to the 250-seat Eastgate at £90,000 in the coming financial year. It has been pegged at that level since 2008.

A spokesman for the council told us: “There are no current plans to change this for future years.” In his report on behalf of the trustees of the charitable Eastgate Theatre (Peebles) Ltd, company secretary Frank Drummond conceded there was difficulty in getting a written commitment of future SBC support beyond one year.

“The charity’s survival is very much dependent on this funding,” stated Mr Drummond.

He went on: “The company, in common with many charities, faces challenges going forward and, for the foreseeable future, it will depend on both volunteers to maintain many functions, coupled with fundraising and grants to bridge the gap between revenue and expenditure.

“The board and employees are working very hard indeed to increase attendances, while containing expenditure at a viable level.

“Planning ahead is challenging in the current financial climate with the charity dependent on core funding from local government.” Throughout 2012/13, the average number of paid employees at the Eastgate was eight.

Over the same year, volunteering activities increased by 25%.

“The use of volunteers in the day to day running of the trading activities and production assistance has been invaluable,” said Mr Drummond.

“During the year, the number of man hours of voluntary work was estimated at 5,000 hours [4,000 in 2011/12] which equates to about £35,000 worth of donated services.

“The board recognizes the hard work put in by both volunteers and employees and is most grateful for the dedication of all those involved.”