PROSPECTIVE buyers of Felixstowe’s seafront theatre are being invited to an open day to view the property.

It is hoped top leisure operators from around the country will visit the Spa Pavilion to see if their ideas to run it as a theatre or a different kind of attraction would be viable.

Property consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle, who have been appointed to sell the freehold of the seafront theatre, will be holding the open viewing day on Thursday, December 13.

Harry Hawksby, director of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels and who is handling the sale, said the venue’s seaside setting made the property a unique investment opportunity which may suit a range of alternative redevelopment uses, subject to planning permission being granted by its owners, Suffolk Coastal council.

“The Spa Pavilion is a well-established venue which we believe offers a number of avenues to create opportunities which add value under the direct control of a commercial operator,” he said.

“Alternatively, the council has indicated that it would be particularly supportive of proposed uses that enhance the tourist and cultural facilities on offer in Felixstowe, subject to the appropriate statutory consents.”

The company is promoting the art deco building’s 892-seat auditorium and 140-cover restaurant, bar and ice cream parlour, plus the fact that the gardens around it are to be refurbished in a �2.7 million lottery-backed project.

The Spa will close on January 6 after the Dennis Lowe Theatre Company completes the run of its Christmas panto Aladdin. No new shows have been booked in and the current operators Openwide Coastal will leave as the council is withdrawing their �250,000 a year subsidy.