Artist impressions of how it could look

A THEATRE company wants to build a temporary venue on land once earmarked for the “Marble Arch Mound”.

A planning application has been submitted for a “pop-up” theatre event space, run by Hartshorn-Hook Productions Ltd, as a new home for The Arts Theatre.

The theatre in Great Newport Street, Soho, is shutting its doors for a two-year refurbishment from 2026. Its final performance will be on December 31 this year.

The building would be 10 metres high and constructed with an aluminium frame and clad and recycled fabric strips stained green.

The stage will be surrounded by shipping containers that will transform to provide toilets, dressing rooms and offices.

If approved the space could be ready to hold 500 theatre-goers from next month through to March 2028.

The proposal has the backing of Westminster City Council, residential amenity societies and nearby businesses.

But Historic England said the temporary structure would “detract from the dominance of the arch” while lighting and prominent signage would contribute to the harmful impact. “The temporary building would generally be at odds with the formal, ceremonial character of the arch’s designed setting,” the body said.

The site is considered MOL, or metropolitan open land, a designation for open spaces in London that are of strategic importance to the city and receive the same level protection as green belt land.

Between July 2021 and January 2022 it was the site of the Marble Arch Mound, a council project aimed at boosting tourism in the central London after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The venue will be open between 9am and midnight Monday to Sunday with varying show times, according to the bid.

A city council officer’s report to the planning committee said: “The scale and prominence of the proposed temporary theatre mean that it will cause some harm to the setting of the Marble Arch, and the arch and its landscape gain no public benefit from the proposal. However, there are wider public benefits in terms of supporting the West End economy and providing a temporary home for the theatre while its own premises are undergoing building work.”