Rotherhithe Theatre Project Manual
Version 1.4 (Integrated) — December 6, 2025
Status: Publication-ready guidance (integrated with Rotherhithe 2 site report)
Table of Contents
- Front Matter: Purpose, audience, golden thread, versioning
- Part 1 — Foundation & Framework
- • Strategic purpose and scope
- • Three-phase lifecycle (Discovery → Implementation → Closure)
- • Governance and risk profile
- • Stakeholders, roles, and RACI anchors
- • Compliance baseline
- Part 2 — Core Project Phases
- • Discovery: site selection, feasibility, funding triggers, decision gates
- • Implementation: design/permissions, build/fit-out, operations ramp-up
- • Closure: demobilisation, handback, learning capture
- Part 3 — Site Pathways & Case Studies
- • Site A: Lavender Pumphouse (350-seat community theatre hub)
- • Site B: Brunel Tunnel Shaft (100-seat subterranean niche venue)
- • Site C: Printworks / Harmsworth Quays (large-scale cultural anchor)
- Part 4 — Specialist Guidance
- • Heritage and consents (Scheduled Monument, listed fabric)
- • Transport and crowd management (including rail adjacency)
- • Safety and licensing (CDM, H&S, Premises Licence/TENs)
- • Financial model and funding bodies by phase
- Part 5 — Tools, Tables, and Templates
- • Site screening matrix; viability decision gates; budget structure
- • Risk register; stakeholder matrix; programme milestones
- • Checklists (week 1, day-by-day, phase gates)
- Part 6 — Appendices
- • Glossary; references; update log; quick reference charts
Golden Thread
Discovery → Implementation → Closure
With explicit decision gates, risk ownership, and evidence trails that satisfy planning authorities, Network Rail Asset Protection, heritage bodies, insurers, and funders.
Key Phases
Discovery
Duration: 3–6 months
Cost: £5k–£15k
- • Low-cost feasibility
- • Avoid premature capital spend
- • Set risk profile
- • Decision gate: Go/No-Go
Implementation
Duration: 12–24 months
Cost: £100k–£2m+
- • Design & permissions
- • Build & fit-out
- • Enact controls
- • Decision gate: Ready to operate
Closure
Duration: 2–4 weeks
Cost: £5k–£15k
- • Demobilise safely
- • Protect reputation
- • Capture learning
- • Project complete
Compliance Baseline
Minimum mandatory controls across all projects:
| Domain | Baseline Controls |
|---|---|
| Rail Adjacency | APA application; 2.4m boundary; daily inspections; incident hotline |
| Heritage | No intrusive works without consent; reversible fittings; conservation-approved fixings |
| H&S / CDM | Principal Designer/Contractor; CDM Plan; RAMS; confined space plans |
| Licensing | Premises Licence/TENs; capacity sign-off; stewarding; noise management |
| Accessibility | Step-free where feasible; mitigations if not; clear disclosures |
For the complete manual, visit Resources to access the full PDF document.