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 Former glory: Westminster Theatre in 1968 |
Drama! Theatre plan stalls
THE multi-million pound redevelopment of the Westminster Theatre has hit the buffers because of a row over affordable housing.
Planning permission for the landmark 350-seat venue in Palace Street, Victoria, was granted back in May ending years of uncertainty over its future.
It had been hoped the curtain would be raised by next year – but developers and Westminster City Council are locked in a legal wrangle that could stall the process until 2011.
The developers want the council to waive requirements to build affordable housing on the site and a £5 million deposit to finance the fitting out of the theatre.
Mark Price, planning and architecture adviser for the arts venue watchdog the Theatres Trust, said: “We’ve been assisting in negotiations and have been supportive of trying to unlock this deadlock and get the right scheme. We’re supportive of trying to get a fully fitted-out theatre. I think it will take 18 months, realistically.”
Stephen Mitchelson, chief executive of the theatre company Aloft, which will eventually take control of productions at the venue, said he was “hopeful” a compromise would be reached earlier.
The theatre, twice converted from previous incarnations as a chapel and cinema, closed in 2002 following a fire.
A council spokeswoman said it was “very keen” to get the scheme moving again. |
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