Don't let the curtains close at The Churchill Theatre

19th July 2023 was the 47th birthday of the Churchill Theatre. We are passionately committed to making sure it's not the last. But the future of the Theatre seems to be at risk, due the dilapidated state of the building caused by years of neglect by Bromley Council who are the freeholders responsible for maintaining the building.

We became aware of the poor state of the building when we had a tour as new councillors in 2022, but hoped and assumed that there would be a programme of repairs to bring the building to an acceptable standard. However, alarm bells first rang in December 2022 when the Conservative group presented a meeting of the full Council with a report reviewing the status of all properties that the council was responsible for - the "Operational Property Review" - which triggered the start of the mass sell-off of key heritage buildings that is currently underway, including Community House and Beckenham Public Halls.

The sell-off was the news that got everyone's attention but within the same document was a  warning about the state of the Churchill Theatre and the Library (effectively the same building). The report said:

"The condition of this asset is poor, and the maintenance liability has been estimated at £15.7M with an unknown element for refurbishment – this could well be more than £28M. At this stage further investigations have not been perused as the costs of doing so are considered prohibitive."

We can now see on the council's website that an item headed "Churchill Theatre Options" is due to be discussed on 20th September by the Executive (Conservative only) committee. We can't anticipate what that decision will be or even what options will be considered by the Executive.

However we need to make sure that the Conservative group understand how important the Churchill Theatre is to the people of Bromley. And that's not just the shows on at the theatre, it includes all the community groups that use it and the unique access to the theatrical world it provides for youth groups and amateur theatrical groups. We've already lost the Beckenham Little Theatre under the watch of this Conservative Council. We mustn't lose the Churchill as well.

We hope the Council will find the resources to bring the building back to an acceptable state of repair, or reach an agreement with the Trafalgar Group (who lease the building) on how to work together to find a solution. But if they decide that is not possible we will be calling for an absolute guarantee that whatever work is necessary that the site will continue to be used as a Theatre.

It's vital that we don't let the curtains fall on the Churchill Theatre. If you agree, please sign our petition here.