Dalston Theatre backers beg Whitehall to halt demolition

Published Tuesday 31 October 2006 at 17:10 by Nuala Calvi

Campaigners fighting to save the former Dalston Theatre have appealed to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to help them prevent the building from being demolished and replaced by tower blocks.

Local pressure group the Organisation for Promotion of Environmental Needs has asked Ruth Kelly to call in for scrutiny a decision by Hackney Council to give planning permission to the London Development Agency to redevelop the site.

A previous injunction secured by the group to stop demolition has now run out and supporters are trying to obtain another to keep the building standing until any potential investigation by the minister is completed.

OPEN’s solicitor, Bill Parry-Davies, told The Stage: “We are trying to clarify with Hackney whether or not they will go ahead and allow the building to be demolished regardless. If they demolish now it would pre-empt the Secretary of State’s decision.

“Our main argument is that the building is capable of reuse so the authorities should be considering how they can preserve it and preserve the character of Dalston.”

Hackney Council declined to comment. Dalston Theatre is currently occupied by protesters who have been squatting in the building since February.

Formerly the North London Coliseum and Amphitheatre, the venue was built in 1886 as an open air circus. According to the Theatres Trust, the entrance by which performers and elephants entered the ring is the oldest of its kind in the country and is said to have been used by Robert Fossett’s Circus.

In 1898, the building was converted into a variety theatre and in the twenties it became a cinema. From the early sixties the building operated as a music club and nightclub, hosting the likes of Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley and Billy Ocean. It was boarded up by Hackney Council in 1999.