The new owner of a town’s iconic building has pledged to maintain its leisure use after it was sold for nearly £200,000 above the asking price.
The Dome in Mildenhall, a former sports hall and leisure centre, was sold for £221,000 eight weeks ago after an auction which started at £25,000, before a flurry of online bids drove the price up.
The new owner of the Dome has not yet been made public.
The new owner of the Mildenhall Dome has pledged to maintain its leisure use. Picture: Savills
The building sits on the site of the former Mildenhall College Academy in Bury Road, which has stood empty since the school moved to the Mildenhall Hub in 2021.
County councillor Lance Stanbury, who represents the Mildenhall division, said the owner of the Dome has given an ‘undertaking to recommission the building and to bring it back into good working order’.
He said the undisclosed owner will be seeking a user/occupier to run the venue for broadly leisure uses.
The Dome was named in a list of the most captivating heritage sites given listed status by Heritage England in December 2021. Picture: Cameron Reid
“This is excellent and very encouraging news for the people of Mildenhall,” Cllr Stanbury added.
“While the dome was closed and was replaced with the new £40m Mildenhall Hub, with its library, health service, gym and swimming pool, the Dome’s new ownership promises to preserve this iconic structure and add further to the leisure offering in the town.”
The Dome was constructed in 1977 using an innovative method, the Bini System, and is one of two such buildings that still exist in the country, the other being the Edinburgh Dome at Malvern Girls College in Worcestershire.
The owner of the Dome will be seeking a user/occupier to run the venue for broadly leisure uses. Picture: Savills
It was named among the most captivating heritage sites given listed status by Heritage England in December 2021.
Ian Shipp, cabinet member for leisure at West Suffolk Council and ward member for Mildenhall Kingsway and Market, said: “The recent sale of Mildenhall’s iconic Dome and speculation that it has been purchased with the intention of continuing to provide a leisure activity is very exciting to me and those I have spoken with.
“I fought hard to have the Dome protected in the knowledge that not only is it an important architectural building but also that it could and would once again be a valuable facility in Mildenhall.”
The front doors of the Dome. Picture: Suffolk County Council
West Suffolk councillor Andy Neal, who represents Queensway Ward in Mildenhall, said: “It’s exciting news to hear it will be providing leisure facilities to the town.
“Obviously in what form that will be is currently unknown but it removes a lot of the speculation that has been going around.
“I am thrilled to know this iconic and unique building will in part be utilised for its original intention, sport and leisure.”
A former squash court. Picture: Suffolk County Council
In August, SuffolkNews reported that community leaders had raised concerns over the ‘sorry state’ of The Dome which has a site area of about 0.44 hectares (1.10 acres).
Suffolk County Council addressed the condition of the Dome which has been vandalised and said the site needed ‘significant refurbishment’.
A report showed RAAC is present in the ancillary parts of the building, including the squash courts and viewing area, but not in the main structure of the Dome.