Plans to erect a temporary performance space to save shows and town trade were drafted in place the “day after” a council found out its theatre would be forced to shut.

Performances at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford were initially suspended for a month due to the discovery of dangerous RAAC concrete in its roof but were later extended to the end of October.

Earlier this week Dartford council documents surfaced indicating the venue would be forced to shut for a year with a repair job costing £7million.

But the local authority has since confirmed today that the “show will go on” and a temporary £1.5 million venue would be open in time for the pantomime season.

To be named Orchard West, the venue is scheduled to open in late November as a fully functional, temporary, enclosed performance space with a 1,000 seater capacity.

And now Dartford council leader Jeremy Kite has revealed the planning that has gone on behind the scenes to get things off the ground.

Cllr Kite said: “The day that we were told we had to shut the Orchard Theatre was a pretty bad day, but first thing the following morning is when we started planning.

“I was absolutely determined that the Orchard Theatre was not going to end on this point.

“I’m sure some councils might’ve taken a different decision, and some councils might not have had the finances to take a different decision, but what we’ve decided to do is to keep the Orchard open.

“We want to repair it and get it back servicing the people of Dartford again. It’s been a very long process but we started the very day we had to close the Orchard.”

The venue is being built on a plot of disused land between Hythe Street and Orchard Street near The Stage Door pub, which is earmarked for the town’s Westgate redevelopment project.

It will come complete with seating, heating and cooling systems, access provision and full backstage and front-of-house facilities, including indoor toilets and bars.

And despite the temporary nature of the structure the Tory leader has promised a “full theatre experience”.

Cllr Kite explained “From the outside it won’t have all the attractive features of a full building but once you’re through the main door and inside, the whole thing will be a full theatre experience.

“The stage is exactly as you’d expect it to be and all the backstage areas, we have a bar and toilets – all the things you’d expect in a theatre, but it’s just wrapped up in a portable package.”

The new temporary venue will be capable of presenting many of the shows originally scheduled at The Orchard over the coming months – with more to be added.

It will be up and running in time for this year’s pantomime production of the Beauty and the Beast starring soap star, actress and singer Shona McGarty.

However, the venue may not be able to handle the “most high complex west end productions” and is intended to be temporary fix.

Cllr Kite said: “No one is pretending this is a cheap exercise, the choice we had was whether we have a theatre in the town or whether we don’t.

“The £1.5 million that this is costing is coming from a special project reserve, but the cost of closing for a year would’ve been greater than that so for us it was a bit of a no brainer.

“On top of that you’ve got to think about all the local businesses, we were looking at ways of supporting local businesses through a years closure and those sums were pretty huge too.”

It comes after traders feared there would be a trade slump in the town due to the lost performances.

But Cllr Kite believes this will a “better solution”.

“It keeps the Orchard running, keeps the shows running, and it gets the staff of the Orchard employed for the period,” he added.

“It gives Dartford the cultural heart that we believe it deserves, it keeps everything going.

“It’s not an ideal position but I think we’ve done exactly the right thing.”