Dudley Hippodrome demolition approved despite objections

Dudley Hippodrome’s demolition has been approved by the local council, despite opposition from heritage bodies and campaigners.

The Theatres Trust said it was “extremely disappointed” by Dudley Council’s decision to go ahead with plans to regenerate the site, which will include the demolition of the Hippodrome building.

Its future has been in the balance for some years, and the Hippodrome has featured on the Theatres Trust’s Theatre Buildings at Risk register since 2010, with the trust repeatedly calling for it to be maintained.

The building, purpose-built as a variety theatre in the 1930s, has not been in use as a performance venue for more than 50 years.

A report from the council acknowledged that it was a heritage asset but said “it must be borne in mind that the building has not been used as a theatre since the 1960s”, and that no new proposals for it to return to performance use have proved viable.

In a statement published after the council vote to demolish the building, the trust said it believed that it could still have cultural or community use and has written to the council to object to its decision.

The building will now be demolished, and the site developed into a testing site for driverless cars.

However, the council has warned that the building may not be torn down for 18 to 24 months while the planning permission process for the future development takes place.

The trust said: “The Theatres Trust is a statutory consultee in planning and as such the council will need to consult with us on the proposed demolition of the Hippodrome. We cannot support the demolition of theatre buildings until their viability has been disproven – and this has yet to be done for Dudley Hippodrome.

“Given that demolition would mean the loss of a cultural venue and a building of, we believe, national significance, and that there is a community group eager to restore and reopen the building, we would also consider the option of call-in to the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, who has the power to take over planning applications rather than letting the local authority decide.”

Campaigners have long called for the Hippodrome to be resurrected as a theatre for Dudley. However, proposals from a community group were last turned down by the council in 2018. The authority said the group did not have enough experience in delivering renovation projects, and chose a consortium for driverless vehicles as the preferred option for the site.