Council broke planning rules by obstructing archaeologists, says theatre body
A public body set up to protect and preserve the nation's theatres has accused Dudley Council of breaching planning rules by obstructing its experts as they tried to compile an historic record of the town's Hippodrome theatre.
Dudley Council planners gave the go-ahead for the demolition of the council-owned theatre in December, 2021, subject to approval from the Secretary of State for Local Government. But one of the conditions was that archaeologists appointed by the Theatres Trust – a government regulatory body – must be allowed inside the theatre to compile an historic record before demolition took place.
Tom Clarke, national planning adviser to the Theatres Trust, has written to Dudley Council accusing it of failing to comply with its obligations.
He wrote: "We do not consider the council to have acted within the spirit of its own planning condition and its approach is not one we have encountered before.
"We would expect the council to take formal action to address and remedy what appears to be a breach of condition as it would take against any other applicant."
