Theatre group saved from the final curtain
Filed Under Shower Curtain | Posted on May 17, 2008
THE curtain will not fall on a Furness theatre group which feared closure.
Barrow Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society is just two years away from celebrating its centenary, but its players were almost forced to leave the stage forever over a planning dispute.
The society’s chairman Martin Craig feared tonight’s performance of Sweeney Todd at Forum 28 could have been their last, ending 98 years of history.
The group is hoping to sell its building, the former United Free Methodist Church, on Storey Square, knock it down and get outline planning permission to build four houses.
But those plans ground to a halt after an application went to English Heritage to have the building listed.
Mr Craig said: “It was a building we were using to rehearse and we are spending ￡3,000 to ￡4,000 on the upkeep each year.
“We don’t need that space to keep sets because we hire them all now.
“We were looking to get it down and demolished before Sweeney Todd started. We expected it all to go through and then someone phoned up and put in a request for the building to be listed.â€
Mr Craig said the building has not been used as a chapel since 1952 and has none of its original fittings or features. It was in regular use up until November last year.
But yesterday afternoon English Heritage announced it would not be recommending the building for listing.
A spokeswoman said: “After a thorough inspection of the premises we found that it is not of national architectural or historic significance.
“English Heritage does recognise that the building may play a significant role in the community and we hope this will be taken into consideration by Barrow Borough Council when reaching a decision on the future of the building.â€
Afterwards Mr Craig said: “It is brilliant. If English Heritage had decided to list it we would not be in a position to look after it and that would probably result in a prolonged period where the building would slowly decay.â€
Tags: barrow, chairman martin, closure, cog, curta, curtain, dramatic society, english heritage, final curtain, free methodist church, martin craig, mr craig, outline planning permission, premises, prolonged period, spokeswoman, sweeney todd, theatre group, upkeep, yesterday afternoonRelated posts
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