The lid has been lifted on the bitter row that split the board of Perthshire’s troubled arts organisation.
Key members of Horsecross Arts, which oversees Perth Theatre and Perth Concert Hall, stepped down en masse in protest over proposed changes which they said would impede their independence.
The group have now revealed they made their move after the local authority demanded a greater say over the decision-making process.
Believing their positions would become untenable, the six board members Iain Halliday, John Markland, Mary Alexander, Steve Antoniewicz, Mike Beale and Helen Richardson resigned.
They broke their silence on the shock decision in a statement which outlined the difficult choice they were left with.
It stated: “Following a lengthy and complex process, earlier this year Perth and Kinross Council became sole member of Horsecross Arts Limited.
“On October 16, we as a board were informed of the council’s intention to also amend the articles of association.
“The amendments would empower the council to direct the board to take or refrain from taking specific actions. The six independent trustees collectively felt this change would hinder our ability to function effectively as independent directors of an arm’s length organisation.
“At this period of natural transition for the organisation, we felt this was an appropriate time to step aside.”
The local authority declined to comment on the claims by the outgoing board members, but a spokesman admitted it had been “working closely” with Horsecross Arts since the organisation fell into financial difficulty earlier this year.
She also told The Courier the council needed to have “proper oversight” of how public money is used.
She added: “The council is not going to comment on the reasons for the non-councillor board members resigning but respects their decision and is grateful for the contribution they have made to Horsecross Arts Ltd.
“The focus for the council now is to help resolve the current financial situation and press ahead with the theatre redevelopment and to do so in partnership with the new board.”
As a result of the uncertainty over the identity of the incoming board, questions have been raised about the future of the multi-million-pound regeneration of Perth Theatre.
Some within the local arts industry have claimed the transformation will be delayed for at least a year, while the historic building will be mothballed.
This has been denied by Councillor Mac Roberts, who has remained on the board and said no such discussions have taken place.
He did, however, reveal that the changes have had some impact on the project, although it will not stop it from going ahead as planned next year.
He said: “The vast bulk of funding is in place and the Horsecross board is committed to it.
“The designs are at a certain stage and we need to move them forward it’s just a case of fine tuning what’s on paper, but the board now has to accept them.
“The changes have delayed things, but it’s certainly going ahead,” he added.
Colin McMahon, chief executive of Horsecross Arts, also denied there had been any changes to the proposals.
He said: “Perth Theatre will close to the public after this year’s panto with the final public performance on January 4 as planned.
“There will then be a period of decant and preparation with construction scheduled to begin in 2014 with an estimated two-year construction period.”