by Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Permission has been granted for a new entertainment venue in Dorchester.
Conversion of a former military hospital on one of the town’s industrial estates will also offer a micro- brewery, café, and space for activities such as yoga and crafts.
Dorset Council has granted planning permission for the venture, which is likely to be partially crowd-funded, with town councillors also backing the project on the town’s Marabout industrial estate which could create twenty jobs.
The site, which has been vacant for 25 years, had previously been granted planning consent for flats, a move which town councillors objected to, describing in as an ‘unsuitable’ location for homes.
Plans for the site suggest that it could provide 50-70 ‘covers’ for food, initially only at weekends and some evenings, but could be expanded to daily use in time.
Two performance areas are proposed in the building on two levels, one with a stage, with a micro-brewery on the ground floor along with a reception/ticket office. The brewing equipment is to come from the town’s Copper Street Brewery whose owner and wife are behind the ambitious plans.
Externally the building, which is listed, will remain much as it is, although secondary glazing is likely be fitted internally with some re-configuration on the existing layout and the addition of sound proofing.
Town councillors have welcomed the proposals although some have expressed concerns that the 13 parking spaces might not be adequate and that more loos were likely to be needed if it attracts the numbers it hopes to.
Town planning and environment committee chair Cllr Ralph Ricardo welcomed the plans: “We didn’t like the housing proposal and I’ve not seen anyone prepared to create a music venue in the town for 30 years,” he said.
Cllr Rory Major also liked the plans and said public parking, at Top o’ Town, was not far away should extra spaces be needed: “It’s a good use of the building and will be welcomed by a lot of people in Dorchester,” he said.
