Theatres Trust slams plans to turn Brighton Hippodrome into a cinema

The Theatres Trust has criticised plans to turn the Hippodrome in Brighton into a £20 million cinema complex.

The national advisory body has submitted a 10-point objection to Brighton and Hove City Council, which is currently considering the plans for the theatre in Middle Street.

The trust said that the developer had not demonstrated that there was no alternative viable use for the Hippodrome in its current form as no full marketing exercise had been undertaken.

It also believes that the venue will not be conserved in “a manner appropriate to its historical and theatrical significance” – and the proposed changes will be too extensive to change back into a theatre without costing too much.

It said that a report exploring the future use of the Hippodrome did not include a “serious undertaking” to identify funding for its restoration.

The objection follows backing from English Heritage which described the plans as the “final opportunity” to save it.

So far, a petition calling on the council to reject the planning application has been signed by almost 8,000 people.

The developer’s plans can be read in more detail on its website here – or the planning applications themselves here and here.

A decision on the first application is due by next week, and was due last month for the second. The council’s Planning Committee next meets on Wednesday 14 May. The agenda is usually published a week before the meeting.