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Dateline: 24th June, 2009
Theatres at Risk The Theatres Trust has published its 2009 Theatre Buildings at Risk Register (TBAR) today. The top ten include the threatened Opera House in Blackpool, and Derby Hippodrome, whose owner is being prosecuted by Derby City Council. A total of eighty-two theatres are covered in the Register. The Trust’s TBAR Register highlights theatres that have been abandoned and those suffering neglect under the hands of their owners, but it also highlights the efforts of groups across the country that are working to rescue theatres, such as the Tivoli in Aberdeen, the Theatre Royal Hyde, and the Doncaster Grand. The Register also provides good news. Whilst thirteen theatres were added this year, eleven have been removed. From the 2008 top ten, two have been downgraded. Wilton’s Music Hall is now talking to the National Trust about the future of this Grade II* East London theatre, and Sussex University has announced plans for the refurbishment of the Gardner Arts Centre. Theatres Trust Director, Mhora Samuel said, "The Trust exists to promote the better protection of theatres. Each year we publish the Theatres Buildings at Risk Register to raise awareness of the threats facing theatres. Some of our most architecturally significant theatres still lie abandoned or are under threat from redevelopment. Many could come back to life as theatres or become cultural centres for local communities. We must do everything we can to make local authorities and owners aware of their responsibilities. The Trust’s aim is to prevent the loss of theatres, such as Glasgow’s Coliseum which was lost in a fire in May and had to be demolished." Of the 82 buildings on the 2009 register, 46 face an immediate threat to their future and are at high risk. Four of these are in Wales, including the Theatr Gwynedd in Bangor, where there is a significant gap between the closure of the theatre (2008) and the opening of the new one in 2014. In Scotland the three high risk theatres include Aberdeen’s Tivoli Theatre, which requires a significant amount of repair work to the structure to make it watertight. The remaining 39 high risk theatres are all in England – an increase from 2008. In the top ten, Blackpool Winter Gardens complex has been added because of press reports regarding the possible demolition and poor state of overall repair. Burnley Empire still features because its owners appear uncontactable and it remains in very poor condition. In 2008 Derby Hippodrome was partially demolished (its owner is currently being prosecuted for these actions). It is now it is under further threat as an application has been submitted to replace it with a car park. The Theatre Buildings at Risk Register can be searched online at www.theatrestrust.org.uk. It covers 71 theatre buildings in England, four in Scotland and seven in Wales. More information on each theatre is provided through a link to the Trust’s Theatres Database, which includes around 2,000 existing theatres. Each top ten entry has a downloadable information sheet.
Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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