WHILST the new Dudley university park has been welcomed by most of the borough, the national body for theatres has called it 'disappointing.'

The old Dudley Hippodrome on Castle Hill will be demolished to make way for the multi million pound higher education complex after Dudley Council secured £25 million to boost the plans.

However, campaigners had hoped the hippodrome would play a key part in the regeneration of Dudley.

The Theatres Trust said it was a "missed opportunity "and will work with the council to "make a case for theatre provision in the town."

Claire Appleby, architecture adviser of Theatres Trust, thought the hippodrome had potential to provide a 1,500 capaicty for live performances.

"With sensitive and sympathetic design, it could have formed a fantastic new gateway to Dudley sitting together with the Odeon Cinema opposite reinventing the 1930s’ streetscape of the past", said Claire.

"While Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council is currently exploring a number of other schemes in the borough, none of these are comparable with the Hippodrome.

"As a purpose-built theatre with fly tower, a refurbished Hippodrome could take a wide variety of shows and provide an entertainment venue that the town is sorely lacking.

"There is also no replacement for the memories and evocative atmosphere inherent in historic buildings such as the Hippodrome. These cannot be recreated.

"This is a missed opportunity to reimagine a building with a strong theatrical history and designed by local architect, Archibald Hurley Robinson who completed over 30 cinemas in the West Midlands, sadly many of which have also been lost. The Hippodrome is unique in being his only theatre.

"As we face a climate emergency it is our duty to look towards sustainable solutions and projects need to consider whole-life carbon assessments including the impact of demolition.

"We have seen elsewhere that the calculated carbon cost for demolition and replacement can be twice that of retrofit. The carbon cost of demolition of the Hippodrome and rebuilding anew requires recognition."

Dudley Hippodrome has been on the Theatres Trust’s Theatres at Risk Register since 2010.