ALMOST 2,000 people have signed a petition calling on Town Hall chiefs to consider a third site for a city centre theatre.
Over the past couple of weeks petitioners have gathered more than 1,700 signatures as they try and convince councillors that any new theatre should be constructed in the centre of Chester.
The petition, which was presented to a Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWaC) meeting in Winsford on Friday, states: "Further consideration should be given to all the potentially available land in the Town Hall Square/Northgate quarter of the city. This review needs to take place within the context of a strategic and cultural plan for the city to ensure that the final plan meets the economic and cultural objectives of the city."
CWaC executive is currently considering the Little Roodee car park and the former Odeon cinema as two possible sites for the project. Last month the owners of the Odeon, Brook Leisure Ltd, revealed plans for a multi-purpose cultural centre including a theatre, cinema, performance space, restaurants and shops.
But those backing the petition believe any new theatre should be purpose-built and should remain in the city centre.
Campaigner Wendy Sutton, of Newton, said: "If we are going to have a theatre, let's do the job properly. If you try to put a cinema and theatre in the same building as well as all sorts of other things, the theatre is not going to be large enough. You need a proscenium arch, you need a fly tower, you need all those facilities in a theatre.
“The Odeon doesn't have that. The other option is down by the River Dee, that is too far away. Any theatre should be in the city centre so there could be some life brought back here."
Jim Latham, an ex-county councillor who is also backing the petition, said: "The council have earmarked £38 million for a theatre. Wasting it on 1930s cinema when you have a huge vacant site next door to it seems a no-brainer to us. What we are seeking is that the council has so far confined itself to looking at the site by the river and the Odeon, they should now take another look at the city centre site which since 1945 has been deemed as the obvious place for it.
“To not have it in the centre defies logic and public opinion. My plea is for the council to extend its researches so that instead of looking at these two sites, they now look at the city centre site and produce an even handed report on the merits of these three options."
CWaC spokeswoman Rachael Edwards said the council was aware of the petition and once received it would be subject to the usual process.