The long running battle to save the Crown Theatre in Eccles will reach its final conclusion this week, as Salford City Council's planning panel of councillors will consider an application by developer Foregate Limited to convert the Grade II listed building into 82 apartments plus commercial units.
The Save The Crown Theatre Eccles campaign has long lobbied for the theatre to be preserved for community use.
As well as the obvious loss of the theatre, the new development, which preserves the facade of the building, will have no affordable housing, thanks to Salford Council policies as it is in a 'mid-value' area.
However, the developer should be paying an open space contribution of £227,969 plus a public realm contribution of £123,000 – yet because they have submitted a 'viability assessment' the Council's surveyor has deemed that "the required contributions could not be sustained"...The Council planning officer's report adds "These contributions would only be payable if the future viability of the development allowed this".
As the previous Salford Star article showed, the developer is allowed to make 18% profit on this scheme, or £2,113,731, which is included as a 'cost' within the viability assessment (see here).
Strangely, despite the developer stating that the conversion would not be 'viable' if it had to pay Council costs, the Council planning officer has ruled out any community use for the building precisely because it would not be 'viable'...
"Whilst a building of this scale could indeed be re-used as a community meeting space (or many spaces), significant investment would be required for this" the officer states "Given community uses do not typically generate notable returns, any such use here may not be viable. Indeed, the redevelopment of the site for residential purposes is viable only on the basis of the form and quantum of apartments proposed.
"It is typically accepted that residential uses offer the highest and best returns and on this basis any use which generates lesser returns (and which would require significant up-front investment) would not likely be viable" the officer adds.
Meanwhile, Historic England has not objected to the plans, despite objecting previously..."The street walls of the building would now be retained and this is welcome" it states "These parts of the building make a positive contribution to the street scene and allow its original use to be observed. The loss of the auditorium would however remove elements which are fundamental to the function and significance of the original use and this would cause a high level of harm. This would however be less than 'substantial'."
The Theatres Trust, while withdrawing its previous objection to extent of demolition of the building, maintains its objection "to the loss of this community/cultural facility...As a minimum, the proposed non-residential space should be occupied by either a D1 (non-residential institution) or D2 (assembly and leisure) use."
The Council report adds that "Given the condition of the building, there is limited retrievable historic fabric behind the existing street walls. All remaining elements are in such poor condition that their value has now been significantly diminished."
Twelve objections have also been lodged by residents, ranging from the scale of the building, to parking problems, to the lack of affordable housing.
Salford Council's planning panel of councillors will consider the application on Thursday with a recommendation to approve.
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