'Will our civic centre ever reopen?'

Alan Scutt said the Whitchurch Little Theatre Group is losing revenue whilst the civic centre remains closed

A theatre group made homeless after a community hub suddenly closed over safety concerns has said it is worried that the building may never reopen.

Whitchurch Civic Centre in Shropshire closed in September 2023 because reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, or Raac, was found in the roof.

The centre was home to many clubs and organisations, such as the town council, library and driving test centre.

A working group set up to consider its future, including the landlord Shropshire Council, said the site will be redeveloped when funding is available.

Hundreds of public buildings, including 234 English schools and 47 hospitals, have been found to have Raac, which is light-weight and less-durable than solid concrete.

The government has so far removed Raac from about a fifth of all schools and has pledged to eliminate Raac from the NHS estate by 2035.

Residents in Whitchurch were against the demolition of the current civic centre

The Whitchurch Little Theatre Group, which started almost 80 years ago, is having to rehearse and perform in the town's secondary school.

"The Sir John Talbot's School is very good, but it is limited in the size and production that you could put on," said Alan Scutt, who has a role in the group's upcoming show, Cluedo.

"The civic has a much bigger stage and area, with potential for up to 400 people, whereas the school will only hold about 90.

"We recently performed The Vicar of Dibley and we had five nights sold out. But we had to turn people away.

"That not only limited the number of people who can see it, but also the income that the group can get from its productions," he added.

The previous Conservative administration at Shropshire Council had proposed repairing or replacing the civic centre with a similar building.

It later agreed to commit £4m within its capital budget towards the a rebuild or new roof.

Former town mayor Andy Hall said most people want the civic centre to stay where it is

But the council's new Liberal Democrat administration has said that no funding was identified, claiming that residents had been "hoodwinked" into believing the money had been set aside.

The BBC has contacted the Conservatives for comment.

"We've got a black hole of £4m," said Whitchurch councillor Andy Hall, who is part of the Liberal Democrat leadership team at Shropshire Council.

"We're looking at ways to raise that money, be it through our capital funding or the community infrastructure levy.

"The heart's been ripped out of this town and we need that asset back."

When asked if councillors had discussed moving the centre to a new location, Hall said they are considering all options but stressed that residents want it to remain on the High Street, in the town centre.

Helen Morgan said she believes a funding solution can be found

An assessment of needs report was commissioned by the last Conservative administration to assess what would be required from a future civic centre.

It found that local stakeholders would rather see a new building replace the old one, rather than installing a new roof, because they believe it would be a better long-term option.

The report suggested a replacement roof would cost up to £2.9m, whereas demolition and redevelopment of the site would be about £9m.

The area's Liberal Democrat MP, Helen Morgan, is hoping external funding can be secured to contribute towards a solution.

"I'd like to see the government intervene," she said.

"But there's also capital money that could be used from the council and there is a lot of building work taking place in Whitchurch so there is also CIL money (Community Infrastructure Levy) available.

"So a mixture of funding is a way to get this resolved."