BRINDLEY THEATRE ENHANCEMENT

A well-designed extension to the Brindley Theatre with a large cafe-restaurant, and a welcoming, safe, and inclusive civic space on the Brindley green, providing a more accessible and visible cultural destination.

Project Description

Since opening in 2004, the Brindley Theatre has become a key cultural asset in the town and has steadily grown its customer base, until it closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2018, the theatre sold 84,000 tickets and attracted 60,000 users to the café. The business plan recognises that, in order to grow and explore other opportunities, the town must diversify the offer to increase its local footfall and develop a more robust visitor economy.

The Brindley expansion will see a well-designed large café-restaurant and make the Brindley Green a welcoming, safe and inclusive civic space. With the aim of making the Brindley more accessible and visible. Furthermore the Granville Street library is to be relocated to The Brindley building, as part of a wider ambition to create an exciting cultural hub in Runcorn.

The proposal for the Brindley does not include a change to the blue badge parking arrangements close to the Brindley, on the Brindley Car Park, or other town centre car parks nearby. There is a vision for a new DDA compliant footbridge across the Bridgewater canal, connecting the Crossville Car Park with the Brindley and High Street. If this new bridge can be realised, then additional disabled parking spaces on the Crossville Car Park would support town centre use.

In 2020, K2 Architects created a RIBA stage 2 design for the envisaged extension of the Brindley with a café-restaurant and event space. The K2 plans can be downloaded.

The Council’s Open Green Spaces Team designed an accessible public space around the envisaged extension. The original plan for the green can be downloaded

In 2021, the Council updated the brief for the Brindley project with the co-location of the local Library with the Brindley and Ellis Williams Architects (EWA) from Preston Brook were appointed. Please see press release for further information

Spectacular plans for the Brindley extension by EWA were unveiled February 2022. Please see press release: https://hbcnewsroom.co.uk/first-look-at-spectacular-plans-for-brindley-extension/  and  download the plans.

There will be a DDA compliant access route from the High Street through the Brindley Green to the new Brindley entrance door. Please see slide 7 and 8 of the plans that can be downloaded

A public consultation drop in session was held 14 April at the Brindley, where the public discussed plans with officers present. An online survey was available for two weeks. Please download the frequently asked questions.

Computer Generated Images are available to view to help visualise the proposed extension to the Brindley:

A video showing the plans for the Brindley Green and the extension to the Brindley is available: