A local correspondent has spotted Fire Brigade appliances including a turntable ladder, Police and Police Dogs in attendance and smoke in Ruach’s part of the building. Apparently Merkur Slots not affected.
Has been some sort of fire inside the Streatham Hill bingo hall and the whole place is full of smoke. pic.twitter.com/qbUhEVHAh2
Following problems with the Lambeth planning site, Lambeth will continue to take comments on the change of use application, but they should be made by Friday 30th May!
Press release issued today: Campaigners aiming to bring one of London’s biggest theatres back into use are calling on supporters to object strongly to a plan to turn it into a church.
Full text is available here or here (PDF). Other press resources including a selection of photos are here.
Ruach City Church have submitted their application for change of use of Streatham Hill Theatre to a place of worship (ref. 25/01141/FUL at Lambeth Planning. It’s arrived just in time for the bank holiday weekend, with the closure date for comments being 22nd May 2025.
The application notes that it is contrary to the policies of the adopted Lambeth Local Plan 2020-2035 (adopted 2021) in particular Policy ED13: Visitor attractions, leisure, arts and cultural uses which seeks to retain leisure operations within the borough.
We will now kick off our prepared response, and will circulate details of the application, and our case for you to also comment on the application – see our dedicated campaign page.
If you can make one of our online campaign meetings please join us on Zoom.
** Please also pass on this message to your friends and neighbours, your local community groups, on WhatsApp, Facebook/Instagram/Threads/BlueSky/X, and any other social media. Then please watch out for further campaign messages and pass them on too.
Together we can save Streatham Hill Theatre for the wider community – this should not be its Final Act! **
We thank our MP, Steve Reed OBE, MP who has written to Lambeth calling for support for theatre in Streatham. This is now even more vital, given that the other local studio theatre, Streatham Space Project, has closed, and Streatham Hill Theatre remains under threat from a planning application by the owners.
Back in 2017, the Theatres Trust added Streatham Hill Theatre to its “At Risk” register. Each year since, the theatre has remained on that list, and it has been confirmed today that it is still on this year’s list.
The theatre’s entry in the 2025 register is here. Our Statement of Heritage Significance gives much more information about the theatre’s importance. This is one of our range of publications about the theatre and our visions for its future.
Our campaign continues, to bring back the theatre to use for the benefit of the community.
A passer-by has told us “There is a total power outage to the building, Merkur slots closed and a sign on the door. No other lights on anywhere, the last time there was a single light in the foyer big now nothing at all. Strange the shop next door has power as do all other premises opposite etc.“
A major issue is that any pumps would no longer have been powered over the time of the outage, and therefore flooding/water damage in the basement could start to be an issue again.
The Bishop of Ruach gave an update on 2/2/2025 at the Kilburn location in this video. It appears they had two fires in electrical circuits relating to the use of temporary heaters. The power company UK Power were needed to make repairs, costing £140,000. The Bishop called for donations to cover the cost.
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