Travelling theatre comes to Bargates
FIRST TIME SPACE HAS BEEN USED IN MORE THAN A DECADE
A TRAVELLING theatre performance will mark the first time Burton’s empty Bargates site has been used since its bowling alley and shopping centre were torn down more than a decade ago.
It has been left as a “village green” while planning officers and developers thrash out details of a planning application for 72 sheltered homes, that was submitted more than eight months ago.
Landowner East Staffordshire Borough Council has announced plans to invite a travelling theatre to perform on what has been dubbed “the world’s first pop-up-plug-andplay auditorium”.
The site in the town centre is to host a programme of events in September with the Brewhouse Arts Centre. The Roundabout Theatre is to feature LED lighting and surround sound to provide live music, comedy and other arts performances.
It will also feature family shows and workshops for young people between Thursday, September 23 and Sunday, September 26.
They are available to book online on the borough council and Brewhouse websites, with tickets costing £5 for adults and £2.50 for children. It is part of a move to help the town recover from the pandemic and lockdowns which hit businesses.
Bargates, off High Street, has been grassed over since 2011 after the old shopping centre and bowling alley were bulldozed when the site was sold to Tesco which was to build a superstore. However, the store was never built.
Jessups re-submitted an application for the land this year which included 72 sheltered housing accommodation homes, as well as two commercial units - possibly for restaurants and cafés.
However, more than 700 people have signed a petition to have their say on the proposals for the one-acre site.
A group of campaigners have previously campaigned to bring bowling back to Burton, saying the town suffers from a lack of entertainment facilities.
A poll was launched by the Burton Mail last year asking what people wish to see on the land.
The poll revealed that 35 per cent of those who voted wanted to see restaurants and cafés, while 22 per cent wanted restaurants, cafes and a shopping centre; 17 per cent wanted a bowling alley; and 16 per cent wanted an entertainment centre.
Just four per cent of those polled wanted housing.