The former Saville Theatre, most recently the Odeon, on Shaftesbury Avenue is under attack again. Built in 1931, it is an unspoilt Deco gem that only just managed to escape the Blitz.
The Odeon when it was built as the Saville Theatre in 1931.
In 2019 a developer tried to gut the building and add 2-3 glass floors on top so that it could be turned into a hotel with a small cinema in its 2 basements. After a lot of local objections, Camden refused the scheme. But the developer took it to appeal. CGCA was very involved in the long battle that ensued across 2020-21, with volunteers taking weeks off work and many local people appearing as witnesses.
In the end the building was saved. The planning inspector’s report is here. His reasons were mainly damage to the appearance of the building and views from the conservation areas, but also damage to its character as it was no longer going to be used mainly as a place of entertainment.
Drawing of the proposed frontage on Shaftesbury Avenue – a 100% increase in height, from 17 to 34 metres.
Then another developer, Yoo Capital, bought the building at a higher price.
To get a return on their £30 million investment they are proposing to gut it, keep only the front and parts of the other outer walls, and turn it into a 200+ bedroom hotel with an even higher extension on top.
They submitted initial proposals in 2024, which they have revised in 2025.
Wednesday 12th March 2025, 6.30pm at St. Paul’s church.
As we reported last year (see the post below in October), the Jubilee Hall Gym on Covent Garden Piazza is under threat of closure, with plans to sell up to a commercial body.
The Jubilee Sports Hall, as it was then known, was the one space that was kept for the community after the famous ‘Battle for Covent Garden’ that saved the area from the bulldozers in the 1970s. It was granted a long lease at a peppercorn rent so that local people had a lovely, light space for exercise and enjoyment.
Its Board of Trustees is no longer made up of local people, and they are looking at it as a business which is not profitable. They run another community gym in London and two commercial gyms which subsidise the costs of Jubilee Hall. We don’t see anything wrong with this arrangement, at least in the medium-term, but they do. Many charities are run in this way, with their main mission being funded through other activities.
Like many other sports facilities, Jubilee Hall suffered financially during Covid; it has a debt to pay and maintenance costs. We have spent months trying to persuade the trustees to involve the community and to put some effort into fund raising. We also believe that the building has a lot more potential, and it has the massive advantage of paying no rent. But the current trustees refuse to allow experienced local people to join the Board, and see selling the building as the easiest way out.
Last year CGCA applied to have the building designated an Asset of Community Value, which Westminster council granted. But the Board of Trustees has now given notice that they plan to sell anyway, and the community only has until the Summer to make an offer.
Please join us at the public meeting which has been arranged to bring people together to discuss a vision for the building, and a plan to implement it.
CGCA will be speaking, as will people who were part of setting up the Jubilee Hall Trust in the first place, former trustees, and individuals who are willing to step up as new trustees.
It’s very important that as many local people as possible attend, to show that the community cares about the place and wants to see it restored to us. With the loss of the YMCA in Bloomsbury, the Jubilee Hall facility is more important than ever.
Jo ‘s death leaves a gaping hole in our community. Everybody knew Jo. Everybody loved her, and admired her courage in standing up for local people. Even those who opposed the Association, in our many battles over the years, had great affection and respect for her.
Please join us at her funeral on Tuesday 17th December at 2pm, at St. Paul’s Church on the Piazza, and afterwards for refreshments at 24 Henrietta Street.
In lieu of flowers, her family kindly requests donations to the ‘Go Fund Me’ page that has been set up to support her legacy and continue her good work at https://gofund.me/8fde552c
The Jubilee Hall Gym on Covent Garden Piazza is under threat of closure. Plans are underway to sell the 85 remaining years of its lease to a commercial body.
The Jubilee Hall includes the high space with huge windows above the market that is used as a Gym.
The Gym was established in 1984 following a campaign by the local community which secured a 125 year lease on the Hall at a peppercorn rent. It was already being used as a successful community space since 1977, and was part of the famous ‘Battle for Covent Garden’ that saved the area from the bulldozers.
The centre is now the only Gym in central Westminster that is community-focussed, with concessions and classes for residents and workers.
With its spectacular, light and airy main hall, it continues to be an important facility. It is quite unique in Central London, which has surprising pockets of deprivation and need.
A CGCA poster from the 1980s campaign to save the Jubilee Hall from demolition.
Of course, like all historic buildings, the Hall also has some challenges with maintenance costs. However, we believe that an updated strategy could overcome these.
A new vision for the building could expand on the current offering of the Gym and its other facilities, involve more local people, and generate more income to cover its costs.
The answer is not to sell this precious asset, which can never be replaced.
The sale of the lease has been conducted in secret; the community was not offered the opportunity to comment.
Sunday, 22nd September 2024. 12 noon to 5pm in the Phoenix Garden.
The last official weekend of Summer, and the best place to be is in the garden. Not just Covent Garden, but our own local gem of a semi-wild oasis, the Phoenix Garden.
Our annual barbecue is on the afternoon of Sunday 22nd September. It’s a great time to catch up with old neighbours and to get to know new ones, over burgers (or veggie sausages), salads and drinks.
The first round of tickets is reserved for CGCA members, who go free included in their membership, plus their family and friends for whom tickets are just £5.
If we still have places left nearer the time, we will open up bookings to non-members.
Please reserve your member spot, and buy tickets for your guests, using the link that you will have received in an email message. If you are a member but have not yet received a message, please email Events@CoventGarden.org.uk.
We will not be serving alcoholic drinks, but please feel free to bring your own (no corkage!).
The weather is set fair at the moment, but if it turns bad then we have the run of the pavilion.
Sunday, 12th May 2024. 11am to 5.30pm in St. Paul’s gardens.
The nearest thing that we have to a Village Fete in Covent Garden.
Everyone is welcome to this beautiful, fun, free event in the garden of St. Paul’s by the piazza.
The weather is forecast to be almost entirely sunny! Please come, chat to your neighbours and get in the mood for Summer.
Local volunteers for CGCA will be at our stall all day. We always have some plants for sale … but that’s just a front for catching up with everyone.
There are plenty of other stalls, games, food and perfomances to enjoy.
Of course, the main event is Mr. Punch’s 362nd anniversary – since Samuel Pepys first recorded seeing him in May 1662.
Punch and Judy ‘professors’ come from all over the UK, and even internationally, to present their versions of the more-than-incorrect puppet drama.
Things kick off with a Grand Procession and band at 11am, followed by the special church service at 12 Noon with Mr. Punch in the pulpit. Then music, workshops and dance performances continue until 5.30pm.
The nearest thing that we have to a Village Fete in Covent Garden.
