A FORMER bingo hall in Gosport could return as a ‘cinema, theatre, live music and arts facility’ after being bought by the borough council.

Gosport Borough Council will decide next week on buying the former Criterion theatre that currently lies empty on Forton Road.

The historic venue opened in 1912 before being taken over by the Shipman and King cinema circuit in the 1960s.

The building was converted into a Crown Bingo hall in 1968 before closing its doors in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Councillor Peter Chegwyn, leader of the council, said: "It’s great news, it’s a subject dear to my heart.

"It’s Gosport’s last surviving original theatre cinema, it’s been there over 100 years, there’s actually a film of Earl Haig online visiting in 1920 and 1922.

"Very historic building, beloved to generations of Gosport movie fans but it’s been lying derelict for two years.

"The risk was that we lose this very important part of our heritage – by buying it the council can determine its future.

"Private developers wanted to turn it into 28 flats, five stories high, that’s not what we want on that site.

"We want to create a top-quality cinema, theatre, live music and arts facility – something we’ve never had in my 40 years as a councillor here.

"Assuming it’s approved next week the purchase will happen within the next month and that saves the building from demolition or being redeveloped as flats.

"The aim is to get government grants and arts council grants to help restore it and bring it back into use, it will be a two-year project.

"We’re not borrowing – we found the funding within our own capital programme."

The price the council will pay for the criterion is currently confidential.

Councillor Graham Burgess, leader of the opposition disagrees with the purchase.

He said: "I’m sorry I don’t believe this is what Gosport wants, Gosport wants a lot of things at the moment and there are a lot of people in need.

"I don’t think this is a way of doing it, you’ll notice this is being brought forward by the Liberal Democrats for the Liberal Democrats – this is Chegwyn up to his old tricks again."