Andrew Lloyd Webber's theatre company given £280k parking charge by Westminster City Council

Andrew Lloyd Webber's theatre company has accused Westminster City Council of trying to make “windfall financial gains” by demanding £280,000 in parking charges.

LW Theatres, the company owned by Lord Lloyd Webber, have applied to suspend three parking bays and one coach drop-off bay in order to carry out a £45 million refurbishment to the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane in the new year.

But the council have sent LW Theatres an “illogical and inequitable” invoice of £279,480 to suspend the parking places from 21 January 2019 until May 2020 for the construction to take place.

The company, which owns six theatres in central London, added that the council should be “celebrating” restoration projects that are conducted by private individuals with no burden on the taxpayer, “rather than trying to penalise them by imposing parking suspension charges”.

According to The Stage magazine, executive chairman of LW Theatres Mark Wordsworth wrote to the local authority, in which he said: “It appears WCC is intent on penalising those who comply with the regulations and to seek to make windfall financial gains at their expense.”

Cllr Tim Mitchell, Westminster City Council cabinet member for environment and city management, said: “Suspending parking bays in central London is an inconvenience to our residents, visitors and other businesses. That’s especially true if those bays are out of action for a year and a half, as they are in this case.

“It’s simply not the same as parking in a space for a single day – reserving spaces over a long period in this busy part of London carries a higher charge per day.

“This money goes towards improving transport services in Westminster, including for children travelling to school, older people and those with mobility issues.”

A spokeswoman for LW Theatres said the company “do not understand where Westminster City Council have got their figures from.”

"The economic impact of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane should not be underestimated. We are investing £45 million in order to preserve the theatre for generations to come. Letting a theatre go dark for almost two years is a huge cost in itself”, they added.