THE Fly by Night has been granted a six-month lease extension by the National Trust.

Trust chair John Cowdell sent the club an email Thursday saying the Fly will get the extension so it can book acts till the lease is resolved. Mr Cowdell says in the email the board will meet August 11 to discuss the lease of the artillery drill hall and potential capital works.

Fly manager John Reid is hoping to derail the expressions-of-interest process that invites other parties to bid, and simply negotiate a new lease.

He’s backed by Fremantle Labor MP Simone McGurk who’s ready to take a petition to parliament Tuesday August 12 (petitions need to be at the Fly by August 8).

He presented to the board a Fly budget that doesn’t rely on government funding, saying a restructure to end reliance on grants puts the Fly “on the cusp of a new era”.

• Eskimo Joe guitarist Stuart MacLeod has thrown his support behind John Reid and the Fly by Night. Photo by Steve Grant

Despite winning certainty to book acts, the extension creates some problems for Mr Reid.

Fremantle chamber of commerce boss Tim Milsom has teed up a meeting with the WA Circus School to look at sharing the hall with the Fly, while approaches have also come from Pirate Radio and the WA Music School. The first two are on tight deadlines to decide on new premises, and a delay on securing a permanet lease might see them walk. “Instead of a three-month headache, now I’ve got an 11-month headache,” he groaned.

The Fly has officially knocked back Sunset Events’ overtures, saying the company is welcome to hire the venue for its events.

by STEVE GRANT