Beck Theater: Protesters vow to fight Hayes Auditorium closure

But pressure group Back the Beck accused the council of refusing to accept Trafalgar’s offer of a zero-subsidy deal during a three-year trial.

Local authorities deny this.

Trafalgar regularly disputed the council’s claims and insisted that it was proposing to operate on a subsidy-free basis.

Back Beck also said he was concerned the land would be sold to make way for apartments.

Speaking outside Uxbridge tube station, Back the Beck campaigner Jonathan Haynes told the BBC in London: “We have so many people coming to us, many of whom are disabled.

“Tickets are affordable, parking is good.

“It really brings a sense of community, and in an area where there is a lot of ethnic diversity, this place brings people together.”

John McDonnell, the independent MP for Hayes and Harlington, told the BBC: “They believe the council has a different agenda, which may be to allow the theater to close and then sell the land for development.

“We hear that the current operator has offered to operate the Beck Theater without subsidies. Any other council in the country would have jumped at this deal.”