Black Country Living Museum will not take Dudley Hippodrome building
The Black Country Living Museum has ruled out taking Dudley Hippodrome onto its site amid demolition plans for the landmark theatre.
Dudley Council has submitted a formal planning application to known down the 1930s-era former entertainment venue, located on Castle Hill, although no decision has yet been made.
The move has angered the building's supporters who say they will "fight to the death" to save it.
Express & Star readers questioned whether the Art Deco-style building could be saved by relocating it to the nearby Dudley Road-based museum, which preserves historical buildings in the region.
However Andrew Lovett, chief executive of Black Country Living Museum, said the cost of moving the hippodrome would be too much.
He said: "There have been a number of attempts to find a way to preserve and use the hippodrome building.
"Unfortunately, none of these attempts have been successful.
"The cost of translocation and sheer scale of the building make it impossible for us to accommodate the structure on the museum site and create a sustainable role for it."
Mr Lovett is also chairman of the Dudley's Towns Fund Board, which was successful in bidding for £25million from the Government to fund a new university park in place of Dudley Hippodrome.
As a result, Mr Lovett has backed plans to turn the site into a university campus.
He added: "The new university development, which will occupy the current hippodrome site, is vitally important to the future of Dudley.
"As chair of Dudley’s Towns Fund Board and chief executive of the museum, I support the new development given the jobs and economic benefits it will create for Dudley and its people."
Plans for the university campus would see it teach courses for the health sector, supporting local NHS services.
Council bosses hope the higher education facility would be up and running by Autumn 2024.
The Towns Fund board, which drew up the funding bid, is a partnership between Dudley Council, Dudley College of Technology, University of Worcester, tourist attractions and other key organisations in Dudley.
The teaching and learning would be driven by the University of Worcester.
However, there are campaigners who are against the demolition plans and are looking to restore the hippodrome.
They, along with the Theatres Trust which is the UK's advisory body on theatres, will make formal objections against the plans.
