Save Our Hippodrome campaigners have welcomed a decision by councillors to grant planning permission for a £20 million restoration of the Victorian theatre subject to conditions.
Members of the campaign group cheered from the public gallery at Hove Town Hall as Brighton and Hove City Council’s Planning Committee approved plans to restore, renovate and refurbish the grade II* listed building.
Save Our Hippodrome was set up 10 years ago to fight plans to turn the venue into a multiplex cinema.
One of the members, David Streeter, said that the venue’s owner, Matsim, a Brighton family firm, had kept campaigners informed about their progress since they bought the Hippodrome three years ago.
Mr Streeter also welcomed Matsim’s plan to build an aparthotel, bar and members’ club at the site between Middle Street and Ship Street.
He said: “We think the plans are the right thing to do. It’s going to be a nice diverse performance space for all sorts of theatre and music.
“The aparthotel doesn’t concern us. The essential thing is the theatre is developed. Most times when this type of thing happens there is an enabling development. You have to expect that to make the thing tick.
“It’s only a car park at the moment anyway so we’re not losing anything in the heart of the old town. It’s essentially an empty space.”
Work is expected to be completed in May 2026, with Matsim – owned by the Lambor family – a having to fulfil a raft of conditions along the way.
Once it is finished, the auditorium is expected to hold about 1,350 people in a “multi-format performance space”.
Mr Streeter added: “We’re in this for the long haul. We knew it wouldn’t be a five-minute job.
“We are just so pleased the council has seen some sense. It’s taken them some time. It’s now got approval and we can look forward to it being a theatre once more.”
A fellow Save Our Hippodrome campaigner, Louise Turner, was equally delighted. She said: “It’s fantastic news.
“We’ve been waiting on this for a long time. We hope all the work can proceed and the damage can be stopped and Matsim can complete their work.
“It is frustrating because if the planning had gone through sooner we would be closer to the conclusion but all the same we’re really happy things can progress now.”
The planning permission was also welcomed by the Theatres Trust, a national advisory body, which has included the Hippodrome in its “Theatres at Risk Register” since the list began in 2006.
Theatres Trust director Jon Morgan said: “Theatres Trust hopes that Matsim succeeds in its plan to develop Brighton Hippodrome into a viable performance venue.
“We do not oppose the principle of Brighton Hippodrome being restored as a multi-purpose venue but have had concerns around some of the details of the scheme.
“We therefore welcome the conditions placed by Brighton and Hove City Council’s Planning Committee in approving the planning application subject to legal agreement which address our concerns with the limited front-of-house space, servicing access and back-of-house operations and require an operator and event management plan to be put in place before the rest of the development goes ahead.
“As previously, we would be very happy to engage further with Matsim to help develop its plans and address these issues.”
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The aparthotel is significant. It will overlook and take light from neighbours, especially from the QuakerMeeting House garden, which is a community resource .