The first meeting of Basingstoke council since all-out elections will take place at the Haymarket theatre next week.

It comes just two months after Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council slashed the funding of Anvil Arts, the charity that runs the Haymarket, by half.

The meeting, to be held at the historic theatre on Thursday, May 27, is set to see a new mayor and deputy mayor chosen.

It will be the first in-person meeting of the full council since February 2020.

Emergency legislation introduced by the government last year has now expired, meaning council meetings making decisions must take place in person.

It is expected that Cllr Onnalee Cubitt will takeover as the borough's first citizen, although it must be ratified by councillors.

Cllr Paul Miller is also expected to become the new deputy mayor, taking over from Cllr Cubitt, whilst the leader of the council and cabinet will be elected.

Current council leader since 2019, Cllr Ken Rhatigan, is expected to continue in his post.

Council meetings usually take place in the council chamber at the civic offices in London Road, but due to reconstruction work, it is unable to hold the capacity required with social distancing.

It is expected that full council meetings will return to the council chamber from July, with committee meetings being held in the adjoining committee rooms.

Meanwhile, other committees that do not make decisions, such as scrutiny, will continue to be run virtually and streamed on YouTube.

Cllr Rhatigan told The Gazette: "It is good that we are using local facilities when we can't use our own.

"We were going to have to have a proportional meeting [if it was held in the council chamber] and we didn't think that would be right with so many new councillors."

Meanwhile BDBC chief executive Russell O’Keefe said: “Government regulations allowing us to hold decision-making committee meetings virtually expired in May.

"This means that the Annual Council meeting needed to be held in person.

"Given the current stage of the government roadmap, we needed to find a space that could accommodate all of the councillors, officers and others attending with social distancing and other COVID-safe measures.

"The Haymarket could accommodate the meetings effectively.

“As government guidelines change and COVID-restrictions ease, decision-making committee meetings will return to the council offices.”

17 newly elected councillors will be attending their first council meeting on Thursday, and will be the first without a number of long-term councillors including Clive Sanders, Colin Regan and Sean Keating.

Meanwhile, Kim Taylor, Mike Bound and Warwick Lovegrove lost their seats at the elections earlier this month.

The council's cabinet agreed to cut the budget in March, and it was confirmed at a full council meeting later that month.

Anvil Arts' chief executive Matthew Cleaver called for Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council to reverse its decision to cut funding by 50 per cent, saying that job losses were unavoidable.

But Cllr Rhatigan and his deputy leader, Cllr Simon Bound, responded, raising concerns of a lack of “strategic planning” by The Anvil Arts’ management.