Brighton Hippodrome is threatened with redevelopment

Brighton's daily paper The Argus has revealed that the city's derelict Hippodrome has been bought by a property developer:

In a recent update to his LinkedIn social media profile, Mr Sheikh wrote: “We are pleased to announce the purchase of a [sic] iconic site in Brighton. For the development of a boutique 5 star 70 bed hotel, 25 high end serviced apartments and a concert, theater[sic], conference and banqueting venue.”

This is the old theatre I blogged about in the spring when I was down in Brighton as part of the day job.

Caroline Lucas, the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, is quoted opposing any such redevelopment:

"Such a move would be a real tragedy, if it meant that it destroyed any hope of returning this amazing venue back to its former glory. 

"If restored, the Hippodrome could be central to the regeneration of the Old Town area which has recently been listed as ‘at risk’ by Heritage Britain.The Hippodrome is still number one on the Theatres Trust’s list of Theatre Buildings at Risk ... for the fourth year running. 

"With that in mind, I have been doing all that I can to support the ‘Save the Hippodrome’ campaign group in their efforts to re-open Frank Matcham’s magnificent auditorium."