Approved plans will add an accessible toilet, a first aid room, storage space and a fire exit route at Bournemouth’s listed O2 Academy in Boscombe, using unused back-of-house areas. New visitor facilities have been approved for the O2 Academy Bournemouth in Boscombe's historic theatre. The approved work will turn currently "unused back-of-house spaces" into areas that can be opened to the public, including an accessible toilet, a first aid room and a storage area. Plans submitted by Live Music also include a corridor beside the new rooms, which will provide a route through to a fire exit wi
New visitor facilities have been approved for the O2 Academy Bournemouth in Boscombe's historic theatre.
The approved work will turn currently "unused back-of-house spaces" into areas that can be opened to the public, including an accessible toilet, a first aid room and a storage area.
Plans submitted by Live Music also include a corridor beside the new rooms, which will provide a route through to a fire exit within the listed building that opened in 1895.
The building, formerly known as the Boscombe Hippodrome, has been used over the years as a dance hall, disco and nightclub before becoming the O2 Academy in Bournemouth, which is a listed venue.
As a music venue, it hosted acts named in the planning information, including Pink Floyd, Status Quo and Led Zeppelin, before its later use under the O2 Academy name at the Boscombe site.
Because the venue is listed, the consent includes conditions to protect its historic character, including timber doors, black external drainage pipes and reuse of the existing ventilation opening as part of the approved plans.
