The Rivoli Ballroom up for sale (again)

The Rivoli Ballroom is up for sale for £7.5 million.

Its current owners put it on the market for £10 million back in 2007. That move triggered a campaign to protect it from being turned into flats or a supermarket and it was given Grade II listed status as a result. This planning restriction gave the sellers cause to reconsider and in the years that followed, the Rivoli's fame has grown, as a location for film, television and music, as well as dance, cabaret and parties.

The new, lower price-tag presumably reflects the fact that it will be harder to bulldoze and turn into something more lucrative.

Despite the fact that it can be maddeningly hard to book and its calendar of events is erratic, the Rivoli is nonetheless Brockley's greatest man-made treasure and its owners have been loving custodians. The relatively few public events it holds have helped to preserve its features, while the eccentric booking process means that some gloriously unusual events take place there.

If and when the Rivoli is sold, we have to hope that the new owners take as much care with it. If they have to recoup £7.5m from it, that will be a tricky balancing act to get right.