Titchfield Festival Theatre Loses in High Court After Building Venue Without Permission

Yahoo! News has reported that Titchfield Festival Theatre, which was ordered to tear down a 465-seat venue built without planning permission, has lost a High Court appeal. 

The £1.7 million development in the Hampshire village of Titchfield was built without planning permission. The theatre was declared illegal by a planning inspector in 2024, and Kevin Fraser, director of Titchfield Festival Theatre, launched an appeal. Titchfield Festival Theatre's Arden Theatre now has the order to be torn down.

For 13 years, Titchfield Festival Theatre has been operating out of a converted barn, featuring two auditoriums seating 100 and 200 audience members. In 2022, the theatre failed to get permission to convert a storage space on the site, and Fraser agreed to the secret construction of a new venue.

 Titchfield Festival Theatre stated: "The trustees are obviously disappointed with the ruling from the Judicial Review.

"We are taking further legal advice on the potential outcomes. In the meantime the Arden Theatre continues to operate."