Regeneration

Ipswich Regent Theatre will begin charging a restoration levy of £1.50 per ticket to fund a planned £3m refurbishment.

The additional cost will be added to all tickets priced over £10, with the money raised going towards funding the theatre’s improvement and upkeep. 

Plans for the refurbishment include improving disabled access and modernising and increasing the venue’s toilet provision, including the installation of a new onsite changing places facility.

The bar area will be extended and the Circle Lounge fully refurbished. The project also aims to restore some of the almost century-old building's original art deco features.

“The investment is required to ensure that the facilities are modernised so that customers receive the very best experience,” said Sophie Connelly, Ipswich Borough Council portfolio holder for culture and customers.

The theatre last underwent an upgrade in 2014. Permission was granted for new dressing room facilities, catering and wardrobe space in 2022. 

Trafalgar Entertainment has been awarded the contract to operate Fareham Live by Fareham Borough Council. 

The company, which launched its Trafalgar Theatres division in 2021, now operates a total of 18 venues.

Currently under construction on the site of Ferneham Hall, Fareham Live will launch next year as part of the council’s multi-million-pound plans to redevelop the civic quarter and regenerate the Town Centre.

The new venue will feature a larger main auditorium with seating for around 800 people. A secondary performance space, new bar and cafe area, and studio space supporting community groups and organisations will also form part of the new building. 

Sue Walker, Executive Member for Leisure and Community at Fareham Borough Council, said: “I am very pleased that Trafalgar Theatres has been selected as the new operator at Fareham Live. 

“They bring with them a wealth of experience and they pride themselves in gathering an in-depth understanding of the locations in which they operate, respecting local priorities while delivering innovation and adding value. We are really looking forward to working together.”

Dame Rosemary Squire, Joint Co-Founder and CEO of Trafalgar Entertainment, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that Fareham Borough Council has awarded Trafalgar Entertainment the contract to operate Fareham Live in this beautiful part of the country. 

"We admire the council’s ambitions for the town and look forward to working in partnership with the Leisure and Community team on the future development of Fareham Live.”

A contemporary arts organisation has become the guardian of a vacant-four storey building in Nottingham’s city centre.

OTOKA, which translates to island in Croatian, is located in the home of a former Clarks shoe shop.

The new space launched a programme of events last Thursday (18 May), set to feature art exhibitions and creative projects.

Working in partnership with East Street Arts, OTOKO will be working towards taking on as many empty spaces in the city as possible to help provide new opportunities for artists in the area.

Director Candice Jacobs said the latest project will “re-enliven the High Street with exhibitions, events, performance and public art works that show what can be possible when artists take on these empty spaces to nurture the inclusivity, diversity & the ambition of its communities”.

“In this new space OTOKA will be supporting the work of local, national & international artists, local businesses, students and graduates,” Jacobs added.

“As well as putting on exhibitions and events, we’ll be providing studios and taking advantage of the building’s cornered frontage to curate window displays and public art projects for the area.”

A pop-up arts and culture venue is to be created in Humber Street after receiving Levelling Up funding from Hull City Council.

The council awarded a grant of £76,418.82 to Fruit Market LLP to help bring a heritage building on Humber Street back into use.

It will be used as a pop-up space for the local arts and cultural scene.

The grant will fund renovations to the building, including the installation of a new shop front and a new roof, an upgraded interior, cladding to the walls, installation of heating and cooling systems, plumbing works and the fitting of fire systems and fire doors, Hull CC News reported.

“The council is delighted to be able to award this funding to Fruit Market LLP,” said Garry Taylor, Assistant Director for Major Projects, Culture and Place at Hull City Council.

“It’s pleasing to see another unused building being brought back into use, whilst also supporting the city’s flourishing arts and culture scene.”

Kilburn Library in Brent is in need of a £765,000 refurbishment to tackle structural concerns about the building, according to council sources.

Both the building and the garden have been described as “in a poor state” by Brent Council’s Corporate Director of Resident Services, amid concerns that further damage to the building may cause it to become “increasingly unsafe”.

“If the Library Service doesn’t act now… then the long-term future of Kilburn Library may be jeopardised,” warned a council report on the library’s condition.

It added that “the building itself may need partial closure if structural problems are not addressed quickly. If no investment is put into the current facilities the condition will decline further.”

Damage to the structure includes large cracks, My London reported.

The necessary refurbishments are expected to cost £765,000. The library has been awarded a £231,000 grant from Arts Council England’s Library Improvement Fund, leaving £534,000 currently outstanding.

If the project goes head, work will begin in November, with reopening set for April 2024. The council is negotiating a temporary move to The Granville, a local community building in South Kilburn in the interim.

As well as tackling structural problems, the refurbishment project will seek to create new hireable spaces to generate additional income and invest in the library’s “underutilised” garden.

“The project will futureproof the library facilities for an estimated further ten years and enable more flexible use,” said Brent Council’s Corporate Director of Resident Services.

“It will alleviate some of the pressures of cyclical maintenance required to maintain its current condition.”

The Neuadd Dwyfor Arts Centre in Pwllheli has received a £36,000 grant from Arts Council of Wales to develop a new programme.

The funding will allow the cultural hub, situated on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, north-western Wales, to offer more live events, including music, cabaret, comedy, dance and theatre.

The theatre and cinema is due to reopen this week following a period of maintenance work to safeguard its historic building, which was built in 1900 and has been an entertainment space since 1902.

Recently completed renovations include re-rendering the external red brickwork, renewing the lead work and installing new windows. 

“This is a new and exciting chapter in the long history of Neuadd Dwyfor, thanks to significant investment to protect this important resource by Cyngor Gwynedd with the support of the Welsh Government,” said Councillor Nia Jeffreys, Cabinet Member for Cyngor Gwynedd's Economy and Community department.

“I am also grateful to the arts council for their support in developing a contemporary arts programme that will attract audiences for this new chapter."

African theatre company Utopia Theatre has secured dedicated new premises for its recently launched Youth Academy in Sheffield.

The Youth Academy launched earlier this year and will move from its current home in St Mary’s Church to the new venue in the coming months. 

Utopia Theatre will use the new space to host workshops and performing arts classes for young people of African and Caribbean descent, as well as those from other minority groups. It will also offer a mentoring and training programme. 

The new venue is a 171-square-metre former hairdressing shop unit, located on The Moor. It was secured with the help of Hammond Associates, a Leeds-based company that specialises in making empty commercial property available to artists, arts and community-based charities.

The new premises, which are being offered rent and service-charge free on a temporary basis by landlord NewRiver Retail, will be fitted with workshop and rehearsal spaces.

The theatre will also maintain its base at The Crucible Theatre, where it is a resident company.

“It’s important that our Youth Academy members, alongside our brilliant team at Utopia Theatre, feel a sense of belonging and ownership and I’m confident this will provide a fantastic collaborative, supportive and vibrant workshop and rehearsal space,” said Mojisola Kareem-Elufowoju, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Utopia Theatre.

“It’s also important for us to be able to play our part in the regeneration and re-use of The Moor in Sheffield, so bringing a new lease of life to this area of the city is a real bonus. 

“We are immensely proud of our Sheffield roots and it’s brilliant to be able to play our part in shaping the future of the area by making use of commercial space which is otherwise unused.”