Leas Pavilion

The Pavilion was initially an Edwardian tearoom used for concerts and film screenings but was converted to a theatre in 1928. Closed between 1940 and 1945, the theatre emerged from the war undamaged. Despite improvements such as new seating, stage and wiring in 1979, the theatre closed in 1985 and the building converted to other uses including a bowling alley, pub and snooker club. The building finally closed completely in 2007 since when the Friends of the Leas Pavilion (FOLP) have tried to register the site as an asset of community value and it has been added to the Victorian Society's annual list of top 10 buildings deemed 'at risk of being lost forever'. The Pavilion was listed Grade II in 2007. The entrance front is of special architectural merit for its high quality moulded terracotta work, ironwork grilles and attached verandah and for its art nouveau style stained glass. The interior with its imperial staircase, galleried interior and ceiling survives substantially intact apart from a few alterations to convert it into a theatre in 1928. Planning permission for an apartment block that would be built over the top of the Pavilion, which was built below ground level, was granted in 2015 but no work has started other than some urgent works for the building's immediate safety. The current planning permission expires in April 2018.