Bromley gives assurances Churchill Theater must go on ‘in some form’ – South London News

Bromley Council has confirmed plans to replace the Churchill Theater with a ‘like for like’ replacement – allaying fears that the site will lose its theater forever.

Plans to upgrade the structure on Bromley High Street were revealed last October, with council documents claiming the 1970s building was at the end of its natural life and “beyond economic repair”.

The freehold for the building has since been listed on Rightmove for unconditional offers. The subject was discussed at a meeting of Bromley council on July 15, when Tory councilor Colin Smith, the council’s leader, made a statement in theater in response to a request from the Labor Group.

Cllr Smith told the meeting: “There are rumors being spread by unknown third parties about a period of whipping and people are not qualifying it by not just having a theater but we don’t want a little boutique. -y the theater tied to the end passed for the real thing.

“If the council launches it, and that’s an if, there must be a fully fitted out theater operating to the high standards that Churchill is doing so magnificently at the moment.”

The council leader added that he would like to see the current community groups that rely on the theater to remain involved at the site after it is redeveloped.

The council initially intended the freehold of the building to be transferred to the Trafalgar Group, which has been managing the theater since 2017. However, the authority revealed in March that it would open tenders to private developers for the structure.

Cllr Smith told the meeting: “We have widened the search. That doesn’t rule out Trafalgar, I really hope Trafalgar understands. But under an obligation to ensure we get as much revenue as possible for council taxpayers, the search is wide and we hope to have a final indicative list of offers later this week.”

The council leader said he would encourage residents to continue to support the theater by regularly attending performances. Lib Dem councilor Julie Ireland noted at the meeting that the Lib Dem Group had started a petition to ensure the site was still used as a theater after its redevelopment, which had received more than 5,600 signatures.

Cllr Ireland said: “The thing we hear most from people and we get emails all the time, is that they feel they have been left in the dark and to hear your assurance today that there will be a theater on that site of the same size and capacity will mean a huge amount to the people who signed the petition in their thousands to save the theatre.”

Council documents from November 2022 estimated that the cost of renovating the Churchill Theater building could exceed £28m. The 0.6 acre site listed on Rightmove is also home to Bromley Central library and six shops.

The central library is set to move from the 13-storey building to the former Topshop site on Bromley High Street in a £15.5m project. Cllr Smith said more details of plans to sell the freehold of the Churchill Theater would be revealed at a future executive committee meeting for the council.

Top Image: Churchill Theater (Image: Google Street View)