A SURVEY of Tameside Hippodrome was carried out almost four years ago, a new report has revealed.

The report – compiled by the council’s Theatre Arts Working Group (TAWG) – says a survey was first carried out in May 2005 and estimated refurbishment costs at £1m.

But the work – needed ‘in order to bring the theatre up to an acceptable standard’ – had not been carried out by the time the Hippodrome closed its doors almost a year ago.

Tameside Council says the original survey provided only a ‘very basic’ estimate of refurbishment costs and that work needed to keep the theatre wind and watertight was carried out. Further repairs are said to have been the responsibility of Live Nation who leased the building.

The cost of refurbishing the Hippodrome following further surveys last year has now tripled to more than £3m.

This includes removing a ‘significant amount of asbestos’ which has been found in the roof and walls (£150,000); further structural work including bulging and outward leaning walls (£350,000); mechanical and electrical work (£839,300); general refurbishments (£536,000) and a provisional sum of £150,000 set aside for fixtures and fittings.

A further £1m would be needed to build a ‘licensed bar and catering outlet along with modern conference and meeting facilities’ to make the theatre ‘financially sustainable.’

Another obstacle is that the theatre is within a conservation area and has inadequate parking.

The council has already spent £45,000 on making the building secure and on surveys which conclude that ‘better value for money will be achieved by considering other options’.

The report states: "Other ways of developing theatrical arts in the borough should be examined as a priority. The group has completed a thorough and intensive evaluation of the options available and it has been their aim to re-open the Hippodrome.  This has not proved possible and the group now feel that better value for money will be achieved by considering other options. TAWG has exhausted all reasonable options for raising the required funding. Any further expenditure on the Hippodrome is not considered to be the best use of funds available and as a consequence it is recommended the building should be passed to the Strategic Asset Management Group to determine the future of the building."

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