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Steven Berkoff |
Plans for theatre’s new design to go before committee
AN HISTORIC theatre looks set for a dramatic West End redevelopment after a seven year deadlock between architects and Westminster Council.
Revised plans to transform the site of the Westminster Theatre in Palace Street, SW1, into an arts, restaurant and apartment complex will go before planning chiefs next week.
The original theatre was demolished following a fire in 2002 but its rebirth has been delayed by Town Hall concerns over the “bulk and height” of the proposed development.
A similar proposal by the site’s developer, Yolanda, was refused in August last year.
The new structure, designed by top theatre architect Tim Foster, promises two performance spaces including a 350-seat main theatre and a secondary studio for jazz and world music concerts.
In a move echoing the Menier Chocolate Factory’s successful combination of facilities, a 100-cover restaurant, a bar and a cafe would help to subsidise the theatre’s artistic programme.
Thirty-two flats are also planned for the upper floors of the site. Yolanda’s first application was to turn the entire site into flats.
The Theatres Trust has backed the scheme and actor Steven Berkoff, whose critically acclaimed production of On The Waterfront has just ended its West End run, will be the venue’s patron.
The Westminster Theatre began life as a chapel in 1766 before becoming a cinema in 1924.
If the plans are approved at the meeting on May 14, the theatre could open as early as next year. |
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