Doncaster Grand Theatre: Venue's future still awaited one year on from sale

The Grade II listed theatre, which has been redundant and slowly falling into disrepair after closing as a bingo hall in 1995, was snapped up for £77,000 at auction last July.

In November last year, new owners were announced, with bosses describing the crumbling building as a “fabulous jewel in the crown” – which “deserves to be enjoyed” by the city’s people.

However, a year on from the sale, little progress seems to have been made on the building, alongside the city’s Sainsbury’s supermarket and adjoining the Frenchgate shopping centre.

The new owners of the building, which dates from 1899, are property development and regeneration firm Mossmans, run by businessman Usman Amin.

Little is known at this stage about the plans for the theatre but under a section entitled “upcoming projects” on the firm’s website, a statement reads: “The Grand Doncaster is a fabulous landmark and jewel in the crown for Doncaster city.

"A remarkable building as stunning as The Grand deserves to be enjoyed by the people of Doncaster and beyond.

"We are working tirelessly to bring these remarkable buildings back to life and to be enjoyed by the local community and tourists alike.”

The theatre was was sold last summer with no reserve after a series of bids were invited.

The building has lain empty for almost 30 years and has been the subject of a long-runnning campaign for its preservation, with The Friends of Grand Theatre calling for the venue to be returned to a working theatre.

Auctioneer James Vandenbrook said he hoped the sale would be "the catalyst for a positive new future for this much-loved Victorian icon".

In 2021, campaigners bidding to bring the theatre back into use as a performance venue commissioned a feasibility study which found that urgent repair work was necessary and that for future use it would have to operate at a greatly reduced capacity from the original 900 seats during its heyday.

Last year, a spokesperson for the Theatres Trust said: “Things are at a very early stage but the new owner has been engaging with the key stakeholders, such as the council and the Friends of Doncaster Grand group.”