‘There’s a body buried beneath Scarborough’s Futurist Theatre’

CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save a threatened Yorkshire theatre are hoping the discovery of what they believe is a grave on the site may offer a last-ditch hope of securing the much-loved venue’s future.

By The Newsroom Wednesday, 7th May 2014, 7:44 am

Patricia David, campaigner for the Futurist Theatre,

Scarborough’s Futurist Theatre, which for decades has been one of the best-known seaside venues in the country playing host to names including The Beatles and Shirley Bassey, has been boarded up after council bosses warned it is unsustainable and, together with the surrounding area, is suitable for redevelopment.

Councillors have already agreed to mothball the site for three months, shutting it down for good unless a suitable operator is found.

Sign up to our daily newsletter The i newsletter cut through the noise Sign up Thanks for signing up! Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting...

The likelihood is that the theatre will be demolished, paving the way for a new development.

Campaigners said yesterday they are keeping an open mind, but believe a family grave has been found which they claim is linked to the theatre and say the small plot has a covenant in place preventing it being disturbed without permission.

They are calling on Scarborough Borough Council to carry out scientific tests to find out if it is a grave.

Council chiefs said yesterday they were aware of the covenant but did not believe it would hinder the development of the site. Patricia David, co-ordinator of the Save the Futurist Campaign, has sent letters to members of the council claiming there is a covenant placed by Will Catlin, who in 1921 developed the theatre complex, on a small plot of land immediately to the rear of the building.

Ms David said that following extensive research campaigners had been able to establish “with reasonable legal certainty” that the plot is the family grave of Tom Catlin, Will Catlin’s younger brother.

“However it is up to the council as to whether a scientific forensic examination will be undertaken, in any way contravening the requirements of the restrictive covenant which states that the plot should not be disturbed without the written consent of the Catlins,” she said.

The plot, marked by a plain stone slab, was only discovered a month ago by campaigners in an overgrown area.

The council has said the Futurist is no longer sustainable because of declining audiences. It says the theatre badly needs maintenance work and keeping it open is not viable, arguing that it needs a complete overhaul estimated as costing as much as £7 million.

Attempts have been made by the authority to secure a new operator but without success.

Lisa Dixon, the council’s director of democratic and legal services, said: “We are aware of a clause in a 1961 conveyance prohibiting the disturbance of a concrete slab situated at the rear of the Futurist theatre without the consent of the seller at that time, Catlins Scarborough Entertainments Limited (later Futurist Enterprises Limited).

“This company was dissolved in 1989.

“We have seen no evidence that the benefit of the agreement has been transferred to any other party.

“Neither have we seen any firm evidence to suggest that the slab is in any way connected with a grave.