Kenneth Rose's plan had been for a theatre which truly belonged to the people of Kidderminster, with no suggestion that the Nonentities were looking after their own. When the finance was available he set up a representative body to build the new theatre on a site provided by the Corporation in Bromsgrove Street, a stone's throw from the Playhouse site.
The Mayor presided at the inaugural meeting in the Town Hall and the trustees were drawn from every section of the community. Schools and colleges, women's groups, trades unions and manufacturers' organisations, the Chamber of Commerce and the local councils in the district (before their amalgamation into the Wyre Forest district) were all represented.
The architect appointed to see the project through was Graham Winteringham, who had designed the new building for the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. He set to work with an original flair which produced a model any commissioning group could be proud of.
The budget figure for the construction was set at £180,000 in 1971. But three years later it had become apparent that a realistic figure would be more like £350,000, then well beyond the means of the trust. One of the governors told the final meeting of the old Kidderminster Borough Council in March, 1974, that it would not be possible to build without a £225,000 subsidy from public funds.
Three of the eight governors resigned then and there, saying that the project had been overtaken by inflation and that they were not prepared to ask for subsidy. The writing was on the wall for the trust and although it lingered on in the hands of the lawyers it was recognised as being a false dawn.
Other ways would have to be found to realise the intentions of its founder.