Lower Broughton's Grade II listed Victoria Theatre has been put up for auction with a guide price of '?350,000 plus'. The auction will take place on 6th September, and campaigners from the Salford Victoria Theatre Trust are hoping that whoever buys it will be sympathetic to the aims of restoring it for community use.
Auctioneers, Pugh, describe the theatre as a "Freehold corner located dilapidated former Victoria Bingo Hall premises on a site of approximately 0.1 hectares...located in a prominent position at the junction of Great Clowes Street (A5066) and Elton Street. Salford University Campus is in the nearby vicinity and Manchester city centre is around 1 mile away..."
While this might have potential developers foaming at the mouth with cash tills ringing in their eyes, Pugh fails to mention that the building is Grade II listed and can't be bulldozed. The original price being asked by the current owner was ?275,000 which was believed to have dropped to around ?175,000 but has suddenly increased to ?350,000...
Meanwhile, this Sunday 26th August at 1:30pm there's a public meeting at St Boniface's Social Club to try and get more people from the community involved in the campaign for the theatre's restoration and future community use.*
Whoever is interested in buying the property should be aware of the campaign and its listed status, which might drop the price and allow the community or Salford City Council the chance to purchase it...
More updates will be provided at this Sunday's meeting....
* Salford Victoria Theatre Trust Public Meeting
Sunday 26th August 1:30pm
St Boniface's Social Club
Lower Broughton Road M7 2JX
For further details see the Save The Victoria Theatre Salford Facebook group - click here
For more details about the auction see the Pugh website ? click here
For more background see the previous Salford Star article on Victoria Theatre ? click here