Shaftesbury Avenue cinema to become hotel and Cirque du Soleil theatre

Camden Council has approved plans to rebuild a Grade II-listed theatre building into a hotel and circus stage, reigniting fears over the impact on local heritage.

Last summer saw curtains for the Odeon at Shaftesbury Avenue, after freeholder YC Saville Theatre Ltd refused to renew the cinema chain’s lease ahead of plans to redevelop the site.

Now, the local authority has granted the owner permission to partly demolish and convert the property into a 220-bedroom hotel, with a basement theatre set to be occupied by circus troupe Cirque du Soleil.

The site occupies an entire city block bounded by Shaftesbury Avenue to the south, New Compton Street to the north, St Giles Passage to the east and Stacey Street to the west.

Originally built in 1931 as the Saville Theatre, it was designed by architect TP Bennett & Son and features a 40 metre sculptured frieze by Gilbert Bayes depicting “Drama through the Ages”. It was later converted into a cinema by Odeon in 1970.

The Covent Garden Community Association, who opposed the plans, described the picturehouse as “one of Odeon’s most successful UK sites”.

Under the plans, the entire interior of the building will be demolished and rebuilt behind the front and side facades and additional basement levels excavated. Heritage features on the outside of the building will be restored as part of the plans.

The new building will increase the gross internal floorspace from 3,581 square metres to 11,036 sqm — making it more than three times the size, nearly twice the height, and with a basement more than twice as deep as the existing.

There will be a notable impact due to overshadowing of the nearby Phoenix Garden public open space and nature conservation area to the north, according to the planning officers’ report.

Ahead of the decision made at the council’s planning committee on 28 April, the Town Hall received a total of 285 objections, including from those who fear the 94-year-old establishment will become “just another hotel”.

Many were opposed to the loss of the cinema, but were also wary of proposals erasing its art-deco architecture and other elements which the planning inspectorate previously said “told the story of the listed building”.

Historic England argued the plans would not deliver a “true restoration” of the auditorium, limiting the application’s proposed “heritage benefits”.

Meanwhile, national advisory body the Theatres Trust told the council the basement space was too small and urged for a “viable larger scale theatre”.

The Twentieth Century Society objected out of concern for the facade’s “carefully proportioned” frieze work carved by sculptor Gilbert Bayes.

While the plans are set to “repair and restore” the 40-metre integrated artwork, the heritage charity insisted the proposed roof extension would disrupt its “restrained materiality and character”.

Others flagged the potential impact of the development on local heritage due to the building being “sandwiched” between the Seven Dials and Denmark Street conservation areas.

However, council officers judged that while there would be a great deal of “less than substantial harm” to the listed building, this was offset by the plan’s public benefits, including the reinstatement of a theatre — also supported by the Greater London Authority.

The committee approved the application on the condition that the owner pays £4.2mn toward’s the council’s affordable housing fund.

YC Saville Theatre will also have to contribute over £300,000 to offset carbon emissions as part of the council’s energy and sustainability plan.

Monday’s decision comes years after the owner first lodged a similar bid which was refused on the grounds of heritage impact.

YC Saville Theatre Ltd appealed the verdict, but this was later dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate in 2021.

Camden’s decision will now be put to the Mayor of London for final approval.

A major redevelopment immediately west of the building at 125 Shaftesbury Avenue was also approved at the meeting.

Odeon, 135-149 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8AH. Camden Council, Planning Committee – Monday, 28 April 2025. Agenda. Webcast.

Additional reporting by Linus Rees.

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