April Update Email

Dear Supporters

Thank you to those who were able to come along to our last community meeting on 27 March. We had a great turnout of over 150 people which, considering the Easter holiday season, we were delighted to see. 

For those who couldn’t make it, the most immediate and pressing task is to draw your attention to the council meeting taking place this week at 19:00 on Wednesday 24 April at York House, Sheet Street, Windsor, SL4 1BY. If possible, we would love to see as many of you there as possible to support our cause. Please read on to find out what stage the campaign is at and why we need your presence and support. 

1) Valuation received but methodology is dubious…

RBWM has shared its long-awaited valuation to purchase the Novello. This effectively sets the price tag to purchase the theatre and it will be discussed and potentially ratified at this week’s council meeting. 

We’re delighted that any previous plans to immediately demolish the site appear to be on hold and the sale of the site will prioritize community offers that “demonstrate a future use and operation of the building that directly benefits Sunninghill and the surrounding areas”.

However, we are deeply disappointed in the nominated price tag of £300,000 and believe the methodology underpinning it is flawed and should be revised. 

Our campaign group has the opportunity to speak at the meeting and a visible demonstration of public support would be most welcome. Apologies for the late notice – we had pushed to have the meeting postponed due to the aforementioned flaws in the methodology and evidence case. However, RBWM is keen to press ahead.

2) ACV status and misalignment of timings

Firstly, the current valuation has been provided in advance of the council reviewing and reporting back on our ACV (Asset of Community Value) application for the Novello. We believe this is wrong. 

An ACV can help protect a building and its future use and our understanding is the ACV designation should feed into the process which generates the purchase price / valuation figure. However, we have been told not to expect a response on our ACV application until May and in the meantime, the council has pressed ahead with offering the £300,000 valuation price tag. 

3) Theatre status now under question

As part of our ACV submission, we provided evidence to RBWM to show the building has been designed and exclusively used as a theatre/cinema throughout its lifespan, with the last theatre production (Cinderella) taking place as recently as December 2022 with tickets open to the public to purchase.

This matters because this ‘theatre designation’ impacts the way the building can be developed in the future. ie any attempt to change its usage will require planning permission that needs to be routed via the Theatres Trust and thus the valuation process is more complex than may have initially been thought.  This means for any property developers interested in the plot, it couldn’t be a simple ‘purchase, demolish and re-build’. 

However, the valuation analysis which underpins the £300,000 figure seems intent on characterizing the Novello as a ‘former theatre’, creates a pseudo ‘bidding war’ in inviting alternative community bids which don’t need to take the theatre design and status into account and ignores the impact a theatre status would have on ongoing use of the building. We are liaising with the experts to advise us on this point.

4) Building analysis 

RBWM provided access to the building at the beginning of March and our surveyor and architect team used this to conduct an analysis of the building. Happily, they reported back that although it has been neglected (and the ongoing maintenance you would expect from a leased and managed building hasn’t happened) the theatre is structurally in good shape for its age. Somewhat inexplicably, the theatre seating has all disappeared and we are keen to find out how such a substantive element of what makes a theatre a theatre has vanished! Moreover, initial estimates to replace them are in the region of around £70,000.

Aside from that, the remedial work required to bring it back into working order won’t be cheap but we have a number of local trade professionals who are keen to help. 

Disappointingly, the valuation provided by RBWM ignores that the new owner will need to pay to cover renovation costs and fails to acknowledge the long-term lack of upkeep by the previous leaseholder and the council as owner and overseer of the tenancy.

5) Campaign support

We are overjoyed with the response and ongoing support from all of you and the wider local community. Aside from our well attended public meetings, our newsletter has over 150 subscribers and our Facebook page has a reach of over 8,500. Many more have come forward with offers of pro bono support as well as generous fundraising pledges for when the fundraising begins. 

We are indebted to those who took the time to write and share your memories of the Novello Picture house – please take a look at our website to read some heartfelt testimonials.

We are also deeply grateful to local Berkshire resident, Kenneth Branagh, who recently lent his support to our campaign. If haven’t seen this already in the local news, visit our website to find out more.

If you are able to come along and offer your support this week at the council meeting on Wednesday, we would love to see you there. Any questions? Our contact email is contact@savenph.org.

Thanks and best wishes,

Alan Everett

Campaign Coordinator