Market Square could be transformed by 2025 - as campaigners win fight to save and enhance theatre
Councillors today formally agreed to 'change focus' on multi-million pound regeneration plans for Newton Abbot
Last updated 16th Jan 2024
An artist's impression has been released of how a new year-round live entertainment and cultural hub could look - after plans supporting it were today agreed in principle by councillors.
It follows a long fight by campaigners trying to preserve the theatre space inside Newton Abbot's Alexandra cinema building - which operates as a cinema for 49 weeks a year, but has a fly tower for stage productions in the remaining three weeks.
The latest plans could see a transformation of the Market Square area but no new cinema - and instead focus on the existing Alexandra building becoming a year-round arts venue and community hub, hosting film, theatre, conferences, live streaming and other events.
The Alexandra's theatre space was due to be lost as part of a £9 million Government levelling up funded regeneration plan - with the theatre being replaced with a smaller space that couldn't accommodate a fly tower. Today's vote means the council has now formally changed focus on projects that could be delivered by 2025 - with further work still to do for developing the Alexandra.
The exact details are still being ironed out, with questions about the backstage fire escape from the theatre still being looked at - after concerns were raised the theatre couldn't open without changes to the latest plans.
Around £2.5 million could be freed up from the original levelling up funded scheme, with money potentially being made available to the Alexandra building - although today's meeting heard decisions would be made at a later date.
Cllr Richard Daws, South Devon Alliance **talks about the Alexandra regeneration**
Opposition councillor Phil Bullivant pointed out the original plan - for a new cinema and redevelopment - could have created 70 jobs, which is now down to 40, dubbing it a 'disaster' and leaving the council in a 'last chance saloon' trying to pull something together with a loss-making market hall.
A report about the plans which can be found here warned: "Failure to agree the project will result in a £456,860 cost to the council in remedial roof repairs to the Market Hall and New Look buildings.
Cllr Martin Wrigley **talks about the plans approved today by Teignbridge Council**
"In addition, the council will be left with decisions around the costs of bringing currently non-operational assets such as the old Post Office building and other vacant retail units back into use.
"The Market Hall operations are currently running at an operational loss and the Future High Streets Fund was identified as a way to fund the changes required to reverse that problem. Without the fund the Council will continue to make a loss and will need to consider alternative uses of the building, as the Markets are not a going concern."
Today's vote follows an Overview and Scrutiny Committee report after a meeting on 12 December 2023, which called on the council to 'progress to submit a planning application for the demolition part that was previously within the cinema planning application for the structure between the Alexandra Theatre and the Market Hall excluding the Shauls Bakery and New Look buildings' and also that 'the Executive puts forward up to £70,000 of the Executive budget towards investigating the options comprising a whole building solution with the restoration of the Alexandra Theatre and the refurbishment of the Market Hall side of the building'.
For more about the plans visit https://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/planning application number 22/01597/FUL and listed building application22/01598/LBC
There's more about the campaign to save the theatre space at the Alexandra here