New hope for Dudley Hippodrome
Dudley Hippodrome took one step closer to reopening as an entertainment venue today as council leaders agreed there was 'potential for a major and very exciting' scheme to bring the site back into use.
Entertainment company The ROK Group has now been given a further two months to work on its business plan to reopen the theatre as a music and sports venue.
It proves a major milestone in the campaign to save the theatre which just two years ago was on the brink of demolition under council plans.
Wolverhampton-based businessman Jonathan Kendrick, co-founder of The ROK Group, is behind the £8 million transformation plans for the Hippodrome.
Mr Kendrick, whose father Vic owned the building in the 1960s, said his company have now submitted three versions of the business plan to run the venue and says the deal needs to be resolved as soon as possible.
"I'm pleased that we have got to this stage but it has taken a long time to get here," he said.
"We have got to make a decision on this soon otherwise we will take our investment elsewhere.
"It is especially emotionally for me, with my attachment to the Hippodrome. We think it is the perfect setting.
"Where else would you have unique attractions like the zoo and museum - that's what Dudley can offer."
Castle Hill is being transformed under a £10 million scheme by Dudley Council to boost attractions Dudley Zoo, the Black Country Living Museum, and Dudley Canal Tunnels.
Council bosses want to push visitor numbers up from 700,000 a year up towards one million and see the transformation of Castle Hill - complete with new car parks and revamped attraction entrances as key.
And now they say there is an opportunity for the Hippodrome to reopened - so long as the business plan can be made.
Businessman Mr Kendrick, from Claverley, revealed plans last year to transform the Hippodrome into a multi-purpose venue.
It would have moving stages to host a wide range of events from pop concerts to snooker competitions.
His proposal also includes an exclusive 'unlimited' auditorium, which would mean people unable to make shows could watch performances via a pay-per-view Hippodrome mobile app.
Mr Kendrick made his fortune selling mobile phone services and a beverage and health and beauty company.
He has pledged to work alongside campaign group Friends of Dudley Hippodrome on the ambitious project.
Dudley Council says it remains open to viable options for the Hippodrome but stressed that any future plan must 'stack up' commercially.
But the hopes the Friends of Dudley Hippodrome had to run the site have been dashed - after council bosses said they would not back their business plan.
Group chairman Gordon Downing said: "Whilst disappointed that our proposal is not being pursued, we are now looking to work with ROK and the council to try to embed elements of our scheme in a project to secure the future of the building."
The talks will centre around Dudley Council and ROK Group jointly establishing whether there are realistic business options for the theatre, which was recently operated as a bingo hall.
Dudley Council leader, Councillor Pete Lowe, said: "I don't think anybody would disagree that there is a potential here for a major and very exciting landmark project for the borough.
"However, I think it is important that everybody recognises that with the negotiation of schemes of this scale and complexity there are commercial factors which ROK must ensure stack up from their side.
"Dudley Council must also be certain that there is a long term project here that adds value to our regeneration agenda whilst being able to mitigate ongoing risk to the council and our council tax payers, and it is only when we are sure that all of these issues can be dealt with that either party can commit to pursuing the project further".
Councillor Judy Foster, who oversees regeneration projects in the borough said there was 'ongoing and positive dialogue' with the friends group.
"Whilst we have advised the friends of the hippodrome group that we are not seeking to take their proposal forward, we are in ongoing and positive dialogue with key members of the group about how they can work with the council and ROK in looking at the next crucial phase of this work to see whether there is something we can all do to put together a viable project," she said.
