THE owner of one of Worcester's oldest theatres has said he could not rule out selling the building to housing developers if a suitable bid were made.

Ian Perks, the owner of The Northwick Theatre, said some developers had gone quiet after initially expressing interest in buying the building, which is currently not in use.

The Northwick is Grade II listed and has an Art Deco interior, which would make it difficult for developers to obtain permission to demolish it.

However, Mr Perks said planning permission had been granted to build a block of flats on the site of a listed building in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire - and said he thought the same thing could happen with the Northwick.

"Nothing constructive has happened recently," said Mr Perks. "The developers that were keen and ready to buy it have gone very quiet.

"But I've got other things in mind. We're having negotiations. We're getting a lot of phone calls about the building, but it will need a lot of money spending on it."

A group of people who were keen to ensure that the Northwick remained a community venue have been looking at ways of raising money to buy the theatre.

However, Richard Sturdy, who set up a website earlier this year to encourage discussion about the future of the venue, is now planning to either close the site or use it as a general community forum.

"We're going to put the actual building on the back burner, but we'd like to get it open again one day," said Mr Sturdy, of Northwick Road.

"It would be a terrible shame if it was to go, but if there's not enough interest in getting it open locally there's nothing we can do.

"At the end of the day, it's in the hands of the owner."

The Northwick opened in 1938 and became a live music venue in 1991. It closed for the last time in 1996.

A church group wanted to turn the building into a 1,000-seat place of worship more than three years ago, but the project failed.

Mark Middleton, head of Planning and Economical Development at Worcester City Council, said no planning application for the site had been received and the listed status would make planning permission difficult.

"It's difficult to see how it could be successfully converted to residential given the need to protect the interior of the building," he said.