Potentially dangerous concrete has suspended performances for at least a month at one of Kent's largest theatres
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00:00 The show must go on, an old saying amongst actors.
00:04 But all performances at this theatre in Dartford are suspended till October.
00:09 A report on Monday found deterioration to potentially dangerous concrete in the roof.
00:15 The decision made over public safety by the building owners, Dartford Borough Council.
00:19 And at the closest pub to the theatre, they don't dispute the safety,
00:23 but are worried for how long this might go on for.
00:27 This is where it should have been expected to be a good month.
00:30 It's now, especially with everything else, with the cost of living crisis
00:33 and all the expensive electricity and the gas, it's going to be a hard month.
00:39 I mean, I'm worried, because this may be the final nail in the coffin
00:43 as to whether we keep going or not.
00:46 You mean that's a real possibility?
00:47 Yes, it is a real possibility.
00:51 The council say the building has been regularly inspected,
00:54 and they say they will support local businesses, doubling their efforts.
00:58 It could stretch longer and it could stretch further than October.
01:01 I mean, the gap we have at the moment is actually to allow the consultants
01:04 to do further investigations and be more invasive
01:07 and get into the building and into the roof a little more.
01:09 It's not the end of it.
01:10 What they've got to do is actually then come up with a formulated solution to us.
01:14 And that solution could be partial repairs or it could be removing the whole roof.
01:17 And clearly, if we have to remove the whole roof,
01:19 and I frankly, I think that could be a very big possibility.
01:22 The Orchard Theatre says any ticket order for this month will be contacted
01:26 and their money is safe.
01:28 Tonight, country superstars were set to take to the stage.
01:34 Well, it was very disappointing.
01:35 We had over 600 people booked and, you know,
01:37 all these people disappointed the staff at the theatre.
01:40 But on a positive, we've had the theatre manager come up to us today
01:44 and say that they are going to definitely get us back as soon as possible.
01:48 The consensus is the right decision has been made.
01:51 It's a huge blow for the local community, for the theatre to have to shut,
01:54 but it's absolutely the right decision that it does shut.
01:57 Safety of the public always must come first.
02:00 And what's important now is that we have a full investigation into the circumstances.
02:06 But this type of concrete was popular during the 50s to 80s,
02:09 a cheap, lightweight material.
02:12 And there is concern to where else RAC might be.
02:16 I think we are talking hundreds.
02:19 And I think the onus is on the government now to deal with that as quick as possible
02:24 because it's public safety.
02:26 Public safety is absolute number one.
02:28 You can't have a public building,
02:31 well, you can't have any building where there's a risk of collapse.
02:34 That's what happened at Singlewell Primary in 2018.
02:38 Thankfully, on a weekend, the room empty.
02:42 Now, the Orchard Theatre might have been the first non-school building to be found with RAC,
02:48 but it's thought it might be in many more across Kent.
02:52 Pressure is now building on local councils to investigate
02:56 and find out the scale of this issue.
02:59 Gabriel Morris for KMTV, Dalford.