Doncaster Grand

Significance

Constructed in 1899, the Grade II listed Doncaster Grand stood on a prominent site in a shopping street facing the main railway station. However, after town centre improvements this ornate Victorian theatre became an adjunct to the Frenchgate Centre, a shopping centre, and its Baroque-style façade was semi-concealed. The frontage, with an improved setting, could again become a local landmark. Internally it retains an intimate auditorium.

Why is this theatre at risk?

Doncaster Grand has been on the Theatres at Risk Register since 2006 when we started the list.

The Grand was threatened with demolition until an energetic local campaign eventually led to the building being listed in January 1995. Today, the theatre, which has recently been purchased by a private individual, remains empty and in a poor state of repair.

Theatre potential

Doncaster Grand has the potential to be reopened as a cultural and heritage hub, for live performances including as a home for amateur and community productions, or to host touring theatre should this prove viable.

The potential of the building to be restored and reopened has been recognised locally by two key local stakeholders, City of Doncaster Council and Doncaster Grand Theatre Trust, known as Friends of Doncaster Grand. The council are interested in the building due to its responsibilities for listed buildings, but also due to the opportunities and benefits redevelopment would bring. The Friends group originally campaigned to help save the building in 1995 and now works to raise the profile of the theatre and campaigns for its preservation.

These stakeholders, together with the previous owners of the Frenchgate Centre, formed a working group in May 2021, after the council was awarded a grant of £11,500 through the Theatres Trust’s Theatres at Risk Capacity Building Programme to part-fund a viability study for the Grand, focusing on a marketing appraisal. This work concluded that there is a market for a reopened Grand to host a range of events including musicals, popular music and comedy, and be used as a space for hire for a variety of community activities. However, it also recommended that, given the scale of any restoration project, it would be best to take a phased meanwhile use approach, meaning any redevelopment would happen incrementally, utilising smaller sections of the building at a time.

Building on this work, a second phase of a viability study was commissioned on behalf of the council, using money allocated to the area by the Towns Fund. In September 2022, Page\Park Architects was appointed to review the building’s structure and condition and undertake an options appraisal to determine a preferred solution to a phased approach to the building’s restoration, with an outline plan for its delivery and the report was published in May 2023.  It found that it would be economically beneficial for the city to work towards re-opening the theatre, but this must be done as a phased approach and urgent funding, and repair works are needed first. The full report can be read on the Doncaster Council website.

This potential has also been recognised by the new who has been  very actively exploring the opportunities to bring a stunning building like the Grand back to life, and has been proactively involved in discussions with local stakeholders, local leadership, cultural and arts and business communities.

Current situation

Prior to the recent change of ownership, the second phase viability report has provided the consortium with a road map for restoring and returning the building to a viable use. The consortium widened its membership to include Doncaster Culture & Leisure Trust (DCLT) and began work to secure initial funding to explore appropriate ownership and operating models as a first step in the redevelopment plan.

The work of the consortium paused in July 2024 due to a change of ownership. The sale of Frenchgate Shopping centre complex completed early July 2024, but the site of the Grand Theatre was not included in the sale, and it was sold in auction later that month.

Since acquiring the building, the new owner has taken an active role within the consortium. The new owner has appreciated the recommendations made under the second phase viability study and is committed to incorporating them into the next phase of redevelopment plan and are working with the aim of securing funding to develop a comprehensive masterplan for the Grand’s future regeneration.

The new owner has expressed a strong commitment to a sustainable model of heritage-led regeneration of the building, as centre of local community social and economic activity, and has been in discussion with the local MP and business community to ensure wider participation in the future direction for the theatre.

The consortium has also ensured that the council and owner have been able to engage constructively relating to the condition of the property.  As the building is Grade II listed, the council has a responsibility to ensure the building is properly maintained. It considers the Grand to be ‘at risk’ due to its vacant and derelict condition. Works have been undertaken to reduce water ingress, but internal access has been limited due to concerns about asbestos. The council has commissioned an asbestos survey to confirm the extent of this risk. Additional funding will need to be secured to undertake remedial works.

Local interest in the cultural heritage of the Grand continues to be high.  In April 2023 Friends of Doncaster Grand secured funding of £6,500 for an oral history collection project and to digitise its archival material through our Resilient Theatres: Resilient Communities programme and to produce a booklet detailing the history of the building and proposals for its future usage.  A new display of output from this work is on display to the public at the Doncaster Dome complex, with plans for it to tour local leisure centres during the first half of 2025, The Friends group continues to actively promote the theatre and raise awareness of the building’s cultural significance.

Theatres Trust will continue to work with all interested parties as they  their work to create a new vision for the Grand progresses. 

Main photo Doncaster Grand, Theatres Trust