Pub groups eye up modernist icon
A Sussex council is considering turning one of the country's best known modernist buildings into a pub or restaurant.
Rother District Council says it cannot afford the £1m annual maintenance bill for the Grade I-listed De La Warr Pavilion and is therefore considering renting it to a private company.
The move has upset some of the building's supporters who fear that putting it in private hands will threaten its future.
The council said its objective was to secure the future of the building "without it being an unacceptable burden on council-tax payers".
Pub group JD Wetherspoon is among those that considered bidding for the building, but said it had dropped the idea after assessing the conversion costs.