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Theatre concrete repairs could cost £10m

Reigate and Banstead Borough Council The outside of the Harlequin Theatre which is in a red brick building with a large glass canopy over the top and a sign hanging from it which reads Harlequin. In the background you can see a high street with a Sainsburys along the roadReigate and Banstead Borough Council
The Harlequin Theatre in Redhill has been closed since September 2023

Repairs to a Surrey theatre with "critical risk" concrete in its structure are likely to cost about £10m, the council says.

Redhill's Harlequin Theatre has been closed since September 2023 when reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) was discovered in the building.

A report commissioned by the borough council found that "almost every" panel in the theatre's flat roof, pitched roof and areas of the internal floor had been classified as "red" - a "critical risk".

Reigate and Banstead Borough Council has estimated it will cost £10m to bring the theatre back into use.

LDRS A model birthday cake with two tiers and a single cake on top. the top tier had an angry face drawn on it while the bottom tier reads Harlequin Theatre one year one So what's the plan?LDRS
Campaigners have called for more information from the council

Alison Bond, a founding member of the Harlequin Support Group, told BBC Radio Surrey that although the sum of money was large, it became more manageable if split between the council and the building's head leaseholder.

She added that the timeline for repairs was "really still very concerning" for organisations such as the East Surrey Performing Arts group she was involved in.

"It's incredibly worrying and damaging for organisations like mine, we have to have an alternative [location]," she added.

Councillor Jonathan Essex accused the council of "dithering and delay" since the closure of the theatre.

He said: "I think we need a vision and a plan, and a commitment both for a temporary theatre now and about the future."

Mr Essex pointed to the £74m in accessible funds available to the council and said it could "afford to work with head leaseholder alongside other commitments".

Richard Biggs, the council's leader, said the council had apologised and previously admitted the first stage relating to the closure of the theatre had taken too long.

He said the council had been "very prudent" with its finances but added: "If we take money from one what are we going to take it away from to do the work?"

Council officers would be exploring options and its executive would discuss the future plans at a meeting in January, he said, adding that the council remained committed to arts and culture in the borough.

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