A theatre in West London is preparing to close down at the end of the year. Beck Theatre in Hayes currently has an agreement with Hillingdon Borough Council, which owns the theatre, but this is due to expire later this year, beyond which the plan is up in the air.
The agreement between the theatre and Hillingdon Council was most recently extended in July 2024 until December 2024, with the potential for a further extension of up to three years.
The theatre currently pays no rent on the use of the building as the council subsidises the cost. However, when their agreement was extended earlier this year, the council outlined their intention to withdraw this subsidy should the theatre wish to extend past the December 2024 deadline.
Trafalgar Theatres, the company who runs Beck Theatre, claims the council has not responded in time, leaving them uncertain as to its future. But the council claims it said it had decided to stop subsidising the theatre, after which the parent company said it would no longer be running the theatre.
Trafalgar Theatres appears to be still taking bookings for shows up to June 1.
Steve Sargeant, theatre director said: “We are deeply disappointed that this deadline has now passed without agreement. We must now start making exit plans to be activated once our agreement ends in January 2025.
“[The council has] so far been unable to provide us with any clarity around any proposed alternative operation of The Beck, and our concern, therefore, is that The Beck may close its doors.”
The threat of closure drew criticism from former Shadow Chancellor and Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, John McDonnell, who described the threat of closure as ‘an act of cultural vandalism in a culturally diverse, working-class community’.
However, the council believe that Trafalgar Theatres are in a healthy financial position and therefore should foot the bill for the theatre’s operations.
In a statement released this morning, the council said: “Quite naturally, as part of new terms, the council has been seeking new operating arrangements as we should not be subsidising a privately owned commercial entity with council taxpayers’ money.”
They added: “At 12.58pm today we received their notification letter which expressed their desire to pull out of the Beck Theatre management with effect from 13 January 2025.
“The same letter asked that both parties agree not to publicise Trafalgar’s decision regarding ceasing activity at the Beck Theatre until after 25 September and we are bitterly disappointed with their decision to make this public in this way.
“The council has noted that Trafalgar Theatres continues to take bookings for productions at the Beck Theatre until June 2025 and it is seeking urgent discussion with their CEO to understand the reasons for the release of these discussions and remains committed to continuing negotiations.”
Trafalgar Theatres Said in a statement: “We are aware of the statement from Hillingdon Council (LBH) and the strength of feeling surrounding the future of the Beck Theatre. We are taking the unusual step of issuing a full statement on our discussions with the council in order to set the record straight.
“Our 15-year contract at the theatre expired in July 2022. In the period since then, we have engaged positively, repeatedly, and constructively in discussions with LBH to try to formulate a plan for the continued operation of the venue.
“During discussions in late 2021, LBH announced its intention to explore potential development opportunities for the Beck. We agreed to a short 2-year extension on existing terms to allow them time to evaluate. Late last year, and with no firm plans advanced by LBH, we re-engaged to discuss the contract again. Citing financial pressures, LBH initially proposed a reduction in its financial support (which we accepted) then withdrew this proposal from their cabinet meeting at the very last moment in April this year. They then asked Trafalgar Theatres to determine whether we could operate the Beck without any financial support from LBH.
“The Beck has never operated without financial support on a break-even basis, but in the past LBH had provided the Beck with a subsidy in order to enable us to engage with the local community in Hillingdon – hosting events in partnership with Hillingdon Music Service and with local schools, dance schools and charities. Our Creative Learning work has touched the lives of thousands of local people and includes, amongst many other initiatives, Community Choirs, Workshops, Dementia Friendly Film screenings and Youth projects.
“Although operating the Beck on a commercial basis without financial support would have been extremely challenging, we agreed to trial that arrangement for a period of three years in order to establish if it was viable. So – we responded to LBH positively again. This arrangement removed the requirement for direct financial support from LBH entirely.
“Our position on building repairs was simply that the council should bear the cost of putting its building in a state where we can remain open for trade in a compliant manner and without the risk of operational interruption.
“At the end of July this year, we gave LBH a deadline of 13 September to confirm whether this proposal was acceptable. Despite us meeting with them in August and contacting them again ahead of the deadline, LBH did not respond in time.
“When LBH did respond, their ‘final position’ was for a period of nine months and they also sought to limit their responsibilities for the physical fabric of the theatre. The effect of this would have been to transfer asset liabilities onto us which, given the removal of any financial support, we found unreasonable. We also felt that a period of nine months was far too short for us to trial the new arrangement. As a result, we confirmed our intention to begin exit preparations at the end of our current contract.
“We feel we have done everything in our power to offer LBH viable solutions to secure the continued operation of the theatre under our management. We spoke with them again yesterday – but in the absence of any firm or adequate proposals from the council we have no option other than to reaffirm our position.
“We are left with the impression, particularly following Councillor Edwards’ public statement, and our various meetings with senior council officers that LBH actually do not wish Trafalgar to continue at the Beck.
“We are not involved with the online campaign, and we understand this is being led by the community groups to whom we privately communicated our position (with LBH’s advance knowledge). While we understand that this campaign may have prompted Councillor Edwards’ public statement, it does clearly demonstrate the strength of community feeling and concern in the borough regarding the future of The Beck. We share those feelings and, whilst it is not possible for Trafalgar to continue, we do not want to see the building close.
“In our discussions with the council yesterday they indicated that they are considering alternative operating arrangements or direct council management of the venue. We have committed to doing everything we can to help and support them in achieving that so that our team, audiences, users of the building and community groups have the certainty they deserve regarding future cultural provision in Hillingdon.
“We are incredibly proud of our amazing team at The Beck, of all they have achieved, and we thank them for their patience and understanding of the situation. We will be offering them our full support and guidance through the coming months.”
Philip is a Local Democracy Reporter covering Ealing, Hillingdon and Hounslow, with a focus on council decisions, housing, planning, licensing and community stories across west London.
