Bedworth Civic Hall to close for good

It's been announced that the Civic Hall in Bedworth will not re-open when it closes as a Covid vaccination centre at the end of this month.

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council announced the shock decision after the NHS confirmed it will no longer use the Civic Hall as a covid vaccination centre. 

The Bedworth Civic Hall has not been used as an entertainment venue since closing in March 2020 due to the pandemic and becoming a vaccination hub in 2021. 

Performances up until March 2023 had already been cancelled as the Council said they planned to study the viability of the site. 

The leader of the Council told Fosse 107 that the Civic Hall is a "major problem" for the council because it costs so much to run. 

The Civic Hall first opened in September 1973 and the council say the building is no longer fit for purpose. 

The Borough Council has now published the first images from a draft vision for the site around the Civic Hall, promising new housing, new office space, retail units, a multi-storey car park and a multi-million-pound civic development to include a 350-seat theatre and a new library.

In its heyday, the theatre featured world-renowned performers including Pavarotti and Morecambe and Wise and has always provided a stage for local amateur performers.

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council leader, Cllr Kris Wilson, said:

“We are already looking forward to the day when local people can again experience the thrill of attending a theatre show on their own doorstep.

“We must be realistic. The building needs new boilers that will cost tens of thousands of pounds. The layout and design of the building is poor, and a number of facilities need significant building work to make the Civic Hall fit for the 21st century. It uses available space inefficiently, and we know it was difficult to sell enough tickets in a venue this size to help make it pay its way, even before the pandemic.

“We know people will feel the loss of a much-loved building like this, but we believe Bedworth has a bright future, so we are looking forward. We have used the time during which the building has been helping the vaccination campaign to look at creating a bright new future for Bedworth Town Centre.

“We believe this is work that could have been done years ago, but the important thing is we are working hard on options for the future now. Today, we are sharing the first glimpse of what this reworked site could look like, but it is early days.

“We have unfortunately been unsuccessful in a recent bid to the Arts Council for funding that would have enabled us to produce a comprehensive feasibility study for this town centre, but we won’t be deterred.

“We will continue to examine all the opportunities we can create and we will bring exciting ideas to reality in this town centre.

“We have shared these images today which show this administration has a bold vision, ambition and aspiration for Bedworth that is unprecedented in our Council’s history.

“We have already completed new mountain bike trails, netball and tennis courts in Miner’s Welfare Park, and work is underway on site to create a new physical activity hub which will replace the ageing leisure centre. We are building an exciting vision for this town, and we are looking at schemes that could help transform this part of the town centre.

“We will give people the chance to be involved in and influence these proposals as they develop further. These are bright days for Bedworth, without a doubt.”

The new Covid Vaccination Centre in Bedworth is located at 12-14 King Street in Bedworth town centre next door to Coventry Building Society, meaning that the community still has convenient and easy access to Covid-19 vaccinations. Bookings will continue to be made either online via the National Booking Service or by calling 119. Existing patient appointments will not be affected.