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£8m deal to save Dudley Hippodrome collapses

An £8 million deal to save Dudley Hippodrome has collapsed after talks over a rescue bid broke down leaving the landmark theatre facing a bleak future.

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Campaigners today said they were 'appalled' after the deal by Midlands-based The Rok Group, which would have seen the venue reopened, fell through.

It marks a major blow in the three-year campaign by the Friends of Dudley Hippodrome after their own proposals to save the venue were knocked back.

The Rok Group, led by Wolverhampton-based businessman Jonathan Kendrick whose family once owned the theatre in the 1960s, said it had now withdrawn its bid to acquire, re-open and refurbish the Hippodrome.

Bosses claimed the deal broke down after they failed to reach an agreement over shared use of the car park to the rear of the theatre serving Dudley Zoo and costs of removing asbestos.

The Rok Group today hit out at saying they were 'frustrated' that despite their proposed investment no senior councillors had committed to any face-to-face talks with them.

Row

But Dudley Council said officials had held talks and reported back to senior councillors including former regeneration boss Judy Foster.

Council officials also said the company's plans would have left the authority with a risk of stumping up £1m to safeguard the scheme.

The row has now led to Dudley's UKIP group calling for an extraordinary meeting of the full council.

Group leader, Councillor Paul Brothwood, said they will be urging the council to set up a cross-party group to discuss its future.

In a statement today The Rok Group said: "It is with regret that the Rok Group has informed Dudley Council that it has withdrawn its bid to acquire, re-open and refurbish the Dudley Hippodrome.

"Despite submitting our proposal over a year ago issues still remain over shared use of the car park and costs around the removal of asbestos."

Mr Kendrick has said he would be making a personal donation to the Friends of Dudley Hippodrome to help with their continued fight.

The Friends of Dudley Hippodrome today spoke of their great disappointment but also vowed never to give up.

Friends group chairman Gordon Downing has spoke of his sadness at the end of the talks, but ultimately laid the blame at the door of Dudley Council.

"I'm appalled that this has happened and we feel the council have delayed and delayed on this issue," he said.

"This theatre could be such a wonderful venue for the people of Dudley and we can't understand why they can't see that."

He says that the group plan to continue their fight by looking at ways the venue could be bought by the community.

A public meeting is also planned by the group in the coming weeks.

Dudley Council's acting strategic director for economy, John Millar, said: "After further detailed work with the Rok group and other potential partners, it is unfortunate that we now seem to have reached a point at which the series of conditions attached to the Rok proposal in order to make the scheme viable from their side, were in part not deliverable.

Conditions

"The conditions as they in the proposal involved land outside the council's control but also included demands that were outside of the council's legal powers and carried a level of financial risk in the region of £1m that we could not protect Dudley council tax payers from."

"Rok group has been provided with support from senior officers throughout the discussions and members have been regularly briefed.

"The council has continued with its commitment to look at any viable proposal with an open mind," added Mr Millar.

Malcolm Palmer, who founded the Friends of Dudley Hippodrome group with Geoff Fitzpatrick, today said the group would 'never give up'.

"If you have a building that you were thinking of pulling down and then someone comes along and says we will take it off your hands for £8m and reopen it, surely it is an offer that you can't refuse," he said.

"In our plans as a group, we have never asked for any money from the council for this," he added.

The Hippodrome was built in 1938 and remained open as a variety theatre until 1964. It was subsequently operated as a bingo hall by Gala Bingo, closing in 2009.

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