Community group reopens entertainment hall

The CIO signed the 20-year lease after the council closed the venue due to no longer being able to afford running costs

A community group has said it is excited to see how Bedworth Civic Hall grows after signing a 20-year lease to run it.

The entertainment venue closed its door two years ago after Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council said it could no longer afford to operate it.

Trustee of Bedworth Civic Hall Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), Rob Batterbee, said the local community had shown great spirit to reopen the venue.

He said: "While that's challenging and frightening in some ways it's also rewarding in that you think 'yes we've done that'.

"I still have to pinch myself to think 'wow we've got a building that we're actually responsible for'."

The venue, which opened in 1973, had been closed since October 2022, with costs of £80,000 cited.

Mr Batterbee said part of the building would be used by local businesses and offer co-working space to develop ideas.

He said: "Hopefully over the next 20 years we can look to expand into both the town of Bedworth and north Coventry where some of the empty shops can be repurposed as the next stage for those businesses.

Nikki Smith from the CIO said the building had been a staple on High Street and its return proved how much it meant to the community.

"Without it, Bedworth really doesn't have much; it brings everyone together," she said.

"We've seen a lot of community cohesion here and we want to move that forward."