It has been reported by regional newspaper media that Bedworth Civic Hall, which hosted the Midlands Regional Championships from 2010 until 2020 will not reopen as an arts venue.

The local Coventry Telegraph newspaper stated that a decision was recently made by Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council that after its role as a Covid-19 regional vaccination centre comes to an end, it will remain closed.

Host

Opened in 1973, it underwent refurbishment in 2004 at a cost of £1.4m.

It hosted the world famous tenor Luciano Pavarotti in a rehearsal in 1990 with the Midlands Regional Championships moving there from Burton Town Hall and its local Belvedere Club in 2010.

The Championships did not take place at the 763 seat venue in 2021, whilst the 2022 contest was hosted at the Core Theatre in Corby.

An unsuccessful application for Arts Council funding meant that the ruling Conservative Council would have to find over £1 million to enable it to reopen as an arts venue.

Unsustainable

The local Council Leader said that the Civic Hall was "simply unsustainable and unaffordable"for a venue that "very few people use and is poorly designed and is not fit for purpose anymore".

Details were revealed that could see Bedworth Civic Centre bulldozed and redeveloped with a new entertainment venue incorporated with a library, roof top bar, apartments and shops.