The Stage

CCE set to programme 1,500-seat Rotherham venue

Published Tuesday 1 February 2005 at 11:40 by Jeremy Austin

Clear Channel Entertainment has been lined up to programme a new 1,500-seat producing venue being built as part of a proposed £300 million entertainment resort on the site of a disused coal mine near Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

An outline planning application for Yes! has been submitted by AIM-listed development company and property consultancy Oak Holdings, in partnership with Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. The site will include the venue, an additional rehearsal complex with broadcasting facilities, an extreme sports complex, a four-star resort spa hotel and a conference and exhibition centre. It will create 2,700 new jobs but will have to be cleared by the deputy prime minister’s office before progressing.

Chief executive of Oak Holdings Steve Lewis has been quick to dispel concerns from nearby Sheffield that the new theatre will have a negative impact on the venue there.

He told The Stage: “There is natural reticence from Sheffield thinking that it is going to be competition but it is all about creating a broader spectrum. The whole idea was to bring additional tourists into South Yorkshire or to broaden and enhance the existing theatre on offer.

“We want a West End production facility that is capable of staging major international productions without adaptation - so touring costs will be less. The idea is that it will be a centre of excellence and training for Clear Channel as well.”

The complex is to be built on a brownfield site that used to be the Pithouse West Coal Mine. The developers believe it is very much in line with deputy prime minister John Prescott’s proposals for the regeneration of Britain’s regions. It has been designed by architectural firm CZWG and Holder Mathias and architect Piers Gough was responsible for the Regency Wing of the National Portrait Gallery. CCE is currently researching whether there is a need for such a facility in the area.

Rotherham economic and development services executive director Adam Wilkinson added: “There is a rigorous planning process ahead but we are confident Oak can meet the criteria. Once that’s complete, we will be creating more than a development - it will be a vision of how future leisure attractions could take shape.

“There are more than 20 million people within easy travelling distance but the scheme would bring in visitors from all over the country, even internationally, so the scope for extra tourism is huge.”