MALVERN Theatre Players have lost out on a grant due to a tight budget policy at Malvern Hills District Council.

As part of its "Best Value" initiative, the council has decided not to offer a grant to the amateur dramatics group to pay for its wardrobe accommodation in part of The Grange.

Corporate director Kevin Douglas said the council was no longer in a position to offer grants unless there was a legal or historical commitment.

"They get a rent grant in respect of the Theatre House and we do give grants in other ways - they gets discretionary rate relief that amounts to £1,131," he said.

"Going back to the last financial year the council's policy has been not to give grants in respect of rents. We need to get the best out of our property.

"There's a lot of demand for all the properties we let and were not in a position to sustain any loss of income."

Chris Bassett, manager of Malvern Theatre Players, said the loss of the grant would not severely affect the group.

"It's not a problem. It just means our service in terms of hiring out our costumes will have to be less liberal in the future," he said.

Mr Bassett said the group supplied costumes to a lot of local schools to help them with their productions.

"We'll have to modify that a little to make sure we can pay the rent but we've got no intention of stopping that service," he said.