Save Nelson Palace Theatre - The Next Steps
7th August 2009
English Heritage has made an inspection of the Nelson Palace Theatre and will be making a recommendation to the Secretary of State as to whether to list the building. Over 150 people wrote to English Heritage in support of the listing and these will be forwarded to the Secretary of State.
Whilst there is no way of knowing at this stage whether the Palace will be statutory listed, The Theatres Trust considers it important that Pendle District Council (the owners of the theatre), understand the extent of the support for the retention of the building. The structure is still currently scheduled to be demolished for a temporary car park as part of a Masterplan for Nelson.
To express your concern at the potential loss of the building please urgently contact Pendle District Council as detailed below either by email or post. Your letter should be addressed to: Mr Stephen Barnes the Chief Executive and Cllr Allan Buck, Executive Member for Economic Development and Tourism. C/o: Tracy Hartley tracy.hartley@pendle.gov.uk And copied to: The Theatres Trust: info@theatrestrust.org.uk
Postal address: Pendle Borough Council, Town Hall, Market Street, Nelson BB9 7LG (Please copy any letters to The Theatres Trust). You may wish to incorporate these sentences in your response.
I am writing to request that Pendle District Council reconsider its view that the former Nelson Palace Theatre should be demolished for a temporary car park. The building should be retained and refurbished as part of the wider scheme of regeneration for Nelson.
The Masterplan suggests ‘building on the current leisure offer’ and ‘creating a strong corner and frontage with Holme Street and Leeds Road’. Retaining the existing auditorium and creating new additions and foyers for other uses could achieve this objective.
With care and imagination, the Nelson Palace Theatre could play a constructive role in the regeneration of the town and we would urge that specialist advice on how this might be achieved is sought.
