Express & Star

Dudley Hippodrome: Campaigners days away from taking over historic theatre

Campaigners are just days away from taking over Dudley Hippodrome – bringing the reopening of the venue a step closer.

Published

Members of the Black Country Hippodrome group have revealed a lease has been agreed with Dudley Council and this will be signed off this week.

That means the group will take the reins of the venue from council bosses and can set in motion plans to get the historic venue back up and running.

The campaigners who want to revitalise the dilapidated building were hoping to have the keys to the historic venue months ago.

However, negotiations over the lease became dragged out due to their complicated nature.

A crunch meeting last week between council chiefs and campaigners saw the final details thrashed out – and both sides have now agreed for the five-year lease, according to Black Country Hippodrome board member Steve Daniels.

That means the keys to the venue will be in the hands of the Black County Hippodrome group within days – and the first steps can be taken to get the venue open as a theatre for the first time in decades.

Architects will be drafted in to come up with plans for the revamp of the Hippodrome, while fundraising plans to pay for the work will also need to be put in place.

Mr Daniels said he was delighted the group was finally on the cusp of taking over the running of the venue.

He told the Express & Star: "There was a four-hour meeting and we shook hands afterwards on it and now we're really rocking and rolling. We thrashed out all the things we needed to and it's all sorted."

The campaign group will be handed a five-year lease to allow the group to refurbish the derelict former theatre on Castle Hill after a last-ditch bid to take over the Hippodrome saved it from the bulldozers.

The venue is in need of a complete overhaul having been closed for seven years when it was last used as a bingo hall.

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.