BOURNEMOUTH’S historic Pier Theatre will close at the end of this summer if plans for a new all-weather attraction are agreed by councillors.

Dwindling audiences and high running costs mean the ageing theatre has lost nearly £400,000 in the last five years.

So pier operators Openwide International have applied to change the use of the venue and turn it into an adventure sports attraction, complete with surf training wave, climbing walls and high ropes courses.

They also plan to have a larger surf wave on the outside deck at the end of the pier, with a total investment of more than £3 million.

Openwide took over the running of the pier five years ago and managing director Steve Cutbush said they did their best to make the theatre a success.

“We felt we would be able to make it work but this theatre gets no subsidies and is a stone’s throw away from the BIC and the Pavilion, which are both subsidised by the council. How on earth can we compete? It’s not going to happen.”

An application for change of use was submitted on Wednesday this week and, if all goes according to plan, work will begin at the end of the summer and the new attractions will be open by Easter 2012.

The theatre will retain its original structure and will be unchanged from the outside.

Mr Cutbush said he knows there will be objections from some theatre fans but added: “I am confident there will be more support than resistance. “There have been some shows where we have had 35 people sitting in the audience – it is soul-destroying, both for the audience and the performers.”

A total of 16,600 tickets were sold for the Pier Theatre last year, compared with 205,000 for the Pavilion. Mr Cutbush said spare capacity at the Pavilion could easily hold the number of people who visited the Pier Theatre.

Openwide’s commercial and operations director Rory Holburn said: “This is a first in the UK. Not only is it the first standing wave to be placed on a pier but it is the first multi activity attraction combining a wide range of adventure sports.

“Bournemouth can be guaranteed a seaside experience matched to the demands of the market in all weather conditions.”