Sale of Freehold of Churchill Theatre

Following last year’s announcement of their intention to sell the Churchill Theatre site, Bromley Council has now issued a public notice to confirm the sale in accordance with the terms of the covenant that gifted the site to the people of Bromley in 1879.

For people concerned about the future of the theatre, this news is not a significant development, as it had already been confirmed that an offer from a developer had been accepted. It is however interesting to note that the public notice makes clear that the freehold of the site has been sold, as opposed to the leasehold as previously stated. 

In practical terms, the theatre will continue to operate under the new ownership and the library will move to the old Top Shop site in the High Street as planned, but this is yet another example of how details of the sale have been shrouded in mystery while the sale proceeded, with the Conservative Council insisting that this information was commercially sensitive. Throughout the process the Liberal Democrats have argued that the people of Bromley should be properly consulted, and kept fully informed at the very least. 

We were always opposed to the sale of the site, and wanted the ownership of the site to be kept with the people of Bromley. But the current Council have been such poor stewards of the building that we believed a leasehold deal to be the least worst option as long as the developers were contractually bound to work with Trafalgar Theatres and keep a theatre on the site.  It is extremely disappointing to now learn that the Council is selling the freehold, and thereby relinquishing any control over the site.

Details of the covenant governing the use of the site are described below. A key point is around how the Council plan to use the proceeds from the sale. We’re seeking clarity on this point, but there are views that the Council will be restricted on how they use these funds under the terms of the covenant.

Background

The future of the theatre has been an issue of uncertainty since the Conservative Council revealed their plans to sell the site in November 2022. The reason given was that the site had fallen into disrepair (on their watch) and was supposedly “nearing the end of its design life”, with the cost of necessary repairs spiralling out of control. 

In response, 5,585 local residents signed a Lib Dem petition to save the theatre - which probably helped the Conservatives change their mind! We were all pleased and relieved when it was announced in September 2024 that a deal had been reached with a developer to buy the leasehold of the property (or at least that was what we thought at the time!). Under the agreement Trafalgar Theatres will be able to keep the theatre in its current home and that the building will be refurbished and made structurally sound.

Since that announcement, we’ve been unable to discover more details of the deal, kept confidential on the grounds that the final legal agreements hadn’t been finalised. We were told in March that the agreement should be finalised by 1 April and that details of the deal would be shared then.

Charitable Covenant

The public notice is here advising the public of the sale and inviting any member of the public wishing to make representations on the proposed disposal to the Trustee 5pm on 28th April 2025.

The site of the theatre was donated to the People of Bromley for their “education and entertainment”, by Emily Dowling in 1879. The rules of the endowment were quite strict and restricted the use of any building on this site. There may also be restrictions on the use of any funds from the sale of the site.

The original settlement referred to in the public notice is a handwritten document that has been transcribed by Bromley Civic Society so that it’s in a readable format.  The details and history of the endowment have been outlined in this article by Ravensbourne Valley Residents’ Association.