No demolition work at Shaw Festival’s Royal George Theatre will occur without notice.

There are conflicting accounts of what’s going on behind the scenes.

Shaw Festival and Centurion Building Corp. are in discussions about the theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake, said the lawyer for Centurion Building Corp.

Eric Gillespie, Centurion Building Corp.’s lawyer, said after an Ontario Superior Court decision that dismissed the judicial review over the town and Shaw Festival violated the Ontario Heritage Act, Shaw officials contacted Nicholas Colaneri, president of Centurion Building, to “work out an agreement to not proceed” with an appeal of the court decision.

Colaneri and Centurion have filed a request for leave to appeal the court decision.

A Shaw Festival official said in an email it is not involved in any direct communications with Colaneri or Centurion Building Corp.

The official wrote that the organization has undertaken not to carry out any structural demolition without five days notice.

Colaneri also said there has been communication with Shaw Festival.

“After filing the stay, the Shaw contacted us,” said Colaneri. “An agreement for an undertaking was made. We have no set hearing date for the appeal yet. So the Royal George is protected.”

In a letter to local media, Colaneri defended his decision to seek legal action to preserve the theatre. He said residents were told by Shaw Festival “there was no other option” but to demolish the building because the structure was “failing” and could not be saved.

Colaneri said a conservation-first analysis should have been conducted on the building.

“This is what led my company to stand up for residents,” he said. “The Divisional Court raised serious legal questions worth answering before dismissing on standing.”

In its 16-page decision, the court said that “there is nothing in the record to suggest” Niagara-on-the-Lake town council “did not consider all of the relevant factors or fail to comply with the Ontario Heritage Act (OHA).” The court said council consulted with its heritage committee “more than once” and retained an architectural firm to prepare a heritage report.

In a March 25 statement, the municipality said the court’s decision “found that the town’s processes were thorough, transparent, justified and grounded in extensive consultation and expert analysis.”

The court awarded $30,000 in costs to Shaw Festival and $25,000 to the town.

By Kevin Werner for www.niagarathisweek.com.