Derelict theatre to become offices

An independent theatre which closed suddenly last year is set to be converted into offices.

The Wightman Theatre, just off The Square in Shrewsbury, shut its doors for the last time in July, when the lease had to be forfeited due to non-payment of rent.

Now the owner of the building, David Dyas, has been granted permission by Shropshire Council for the theatre to be turned into office space. The theatre occupies the ground floor with offices above.

Mr Dyas said the change was necessary as the venue had proven not be viable as a theatre.

The planning application was objected to by the Theatres Trust, which said there was no evidence that demand for live shows was adequately met at Shrewsbury’s other venues.

Tom Clark, the trusts’s national planning adviser, said: “The capacity of the theatre is lower than that of Theatre Severn’s smaller auditorium the Walker Theatre and Ashton Theatre at Shrewsbury School. As such it could meet a need catering to smaller productions and local groups.

“Furthermore continued theatre/performance use would contribute towards the diversity of uses in the town centre, helping support its overall function.

“The importance of cultural facilities in bringing people into town centres and supporting other businesses is increasingly being recognised.”

But Mr Dyas said the building, constructed in 1863, had physical limitations which prevented it being a successful arts venue.

Originally a working men’s club, the building was used by the army during World War One, later becoming Shrewsbury Repertory Theatre in the 1940s.

The theatre closed in 1959 and the building was vacant for decades, eventually becoming an antiques centre in 1993.

From 2000 it was used on and off as a theatre and events venue, until Adrian Monahan took on the lease in 2015 and opened the Wightman Theatre.

Mr Dyas said following the theatre’s closure last summer there had been interest from two other production companies and an independent cinema, but all concluded that it was not a viable venue due to “lack of frontage and physical constraints”.

Mr Dyas added: “Retaining the building as a theatre is unnecessary as Shrewsbury already has three other dedicated theatre venues and a number of smaller halls in which travelling shows are regularly accommodated, together with other types of arts events – not all of which are fully subscribed, or indeed anywhere near being fully subscribed.”

Permission for change of use was granted by council planning officers.