Brockley Jack Theatre fear
We've tried to cover the planned developments to the Brockley Jack but have met with a rather guarded response from the management and Greene King (the parent company). This note, we received today from The Brockley Jack Theatre Co. may go some way to explaining it:
From today we have learnt that the Brockley Jack Pub is to be refurbished in the New Year. In principle, this is something that the theatre is keen to embrace and we have always wanted to work with the brewery – Greene King – on any plans for redevelopment.
However, the current plans for refurbishment mean the following:
- the theatre will be relocated upstairs – via a stone staircase with NO provision for disabled access. This will affect many members of our audience as well as future participants. We have been informed by the brewery’s representative that they will not address this issue and provide reasonable access.
- the pub’s toilets are to be relocated in the current theatre space – with the new performance space directly above this. (We have no written reassurance on sound proofing).
- we have also been advised that any relocation costs of the theatre to the upstairs room will have to be met by the theatre company itself– this is simply not possible! This involves sound proofing, relocation of electrical supplies, refitting the room for theatre use, installation of load bearing rig etc.
The situation is now urgent as plans are going to Lewisham Council, with a possible planning meeting tomorrow night - so we do need your support now.
Please can you email reasons for objections to the plans to the following three email addresses. Please can you email asap – by Thursday midday latest. Thank you.planning@lewisham.gov.uk
natalie.price@lewisham.gov.uk
sean.farnan@lewisham.gov.uk
In your email please could you mention the following, and in addition include any other comments that you feel applicable about the value of the current theatre space to the community, to the local and London wide theatre scene.
Objections:
The current application does not mention the change of the site of the theatre, and the access issues this would entail.
Click here if you wish to view the planning application.
Planning meeting:
There is a potential planning meeting tomorrow night. The details are below. Unless we make personal representation and objections, the plans may be approved. We will only know if this is happening by tomorrow – hopefully midday. If anyone can attend, we would be most grateful for your support. At this moment we are not sure what this would meeting would entail - but planning have advised us that if it is relevant to the theatre we should be there.
If the meeting is deferred, the next planning meeting would be January.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
Meeting details.
6 December 2007 7:30pm
Committee Rooms 1 and 2, Civic Suite, Lewisham Town Hall, Catford, SE6 4RU Telephone No. 020 8314 9786
If the meeting goes ahead we will all meet there at 7.20pm.
If there is anything else, please come back to us.
best to all
Karl&Kate
Brockley Jack Theatre.
We don't know the Brockley Jack well enough to comment on the desirability of moving the theatre upstairs, although of course, there are many successful precedents for this. But we do find the issue of disabled access exrtaordinary, particularly given that Greene King is a major PLC that ought to consider access to its properties a priority. Lewisham Council ought to be mindful too that one of the legacies of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics for London was supposed to be greater empahsis on disabled access in the capital. [Full disclosure: we do some work for the Paralympics on a pro-bono basis]. As a Borough that wants to capitalise on the impact of the Games, it needs to treat such issues as a priority.
Given that there is also some doubt about the long-term future of the Rivoli Ballroom, the demise of the Theatre would be a major blow to Brockley's cultural landscape.
