Battle to save Rhyl's Little Theatre goes on

Dec 31 2008 By Justine Bailey

Rhyl's Little Theatre

A FIGHT to save the UK’s first purpose-built theatre for children will continue into the new year.

Rhyl’s Little Theatre was meant to close its doors for the last time on December 1 after the council refused to renew its lease, on health and safety grounds.

But volunteers running the facility have kept the decaying 1960s building open, raising £34,000 to pay for improvements over the last few years to bring it up to standard.

Denbighshire has regularly re-assessed the building’s risk, and allowed youth groups to continue meeting there.

However volunteers say they can’t plan for the venue’s future until the closure order is finally overturned. They are now preparing to take Denbighshire council to the resort’s county court in January, in a bid to secure its future for good.

Volunteers stress recent works mean the building on Vale Road is now safe and the 5% of outstanding works are purely to improve its appearance. Campaigners also point out it is not the final curtain just yet.

Theatre secretary Neil Taylor said: "We want to meet the council to discuss the work we have done, we are so determined that we are taking our fight for a new lease to the county court. New inspections reveal that the building is safe, it is still licensed and operating and we are defying all the odds."

He added: "We won’t give up our battle and the shows will go on."

Over the last few weeks, public meetings have been held by the community who want to save the theatre with councillors and MPs adding their weight to the campaign to save the "vital asset" from the axe.

It comes after council officers issued a recommendation in May not to renew the lease on health and safety grounds, forcing many childrens’ productions to be postponed or cancelled at the time.

The venue has been under threat for four years, after concerns were raised about the building’s condition but its directors claim they have been unable to arrange a meeting with the council to discuss its fate.

In a statement, theatre bosses say: "We were granted a lease in October 2006 to undertake an agreed list of work based on the £34,000 estimate of 2004. Literally 95% of that work has been done and what remains is cosmetic, painting and cleaning. There is no structural work outstanding."

A spokeswoman for Denbighshire County Council said: "The matter is subject to legal proceedings so it would be inappropriate for us to comment."