Regeneration

Reading Borough Council has submitted plans for a £13.7m overhaul of The Hexagon theatre.

The proposals include the demolition of unused parts of the building and the addition of a new extension with a 300-seat auditorium and performance space.

If approved, work on the project could begin in August, with the theatre remaining open during construction

The update is part of a broader regeneration of the area known as the Minster Quarter and is backed by £19.1m that the council received from the government's Levelling Up fund.

County Durham has received a £1.25m Place Partnership award from Arts Council England, funded by the National Lottery, for a three-year programme of events, skills development and community-led activities.

The grant supplements the £2m Durham County Council has pledged toward the project and follows the region’s bid for the UK City of Culture 2025. After making it to the final four, the county lost out to Bradford.

Running from 2024 to 2026, with a 'spotlight' year in 2025, the programme includes establishing a county-wide network of community-based cultural hubs where residents can develop their creative projects and share ideas.

The award will also support a long-term international programme with South Africa's Isango Ensemble, with the aim of developing local talent and new productions that build on the region's heritage of mining and community activism.

The programme has been developed in partnership with Beamish Museum, The Bowes Museum, Durham University, No More Nowt, The Forge, Northern Heartlands, Redhills and TIN Arts.

Amanda Hopgood, Leader of Durham County Council, said: "The £1.25m awarded is a huge vote of confidence by Arts Council England as we put culture at the heart of our regeneration plans for the county and the wider region.

"2022 marked a historic milestone for the county, with tourism contributing over £1bn to our economy for the first time, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

"We are committed to both culture-led regeneration and activities that directly connect culture to economic and community growth.”

Jane Tarr, Arts Council England's Director for the North, added: "The Place Partnership Fund is designed to help places make a step-change in the cultural and creative lives of the community, and I'm delighted that culture is at the centre of Durham's regeneration plans."

Thanet Council has revealed plans to restore and modernise Theatre Royal Margate in a bid to transform the Grade II* listed venue into a “nationally significant performing arts hub”.

Proposals put forward for public review include adding a bar and cafe, a 50-seat studio theatre and sound recording studio to the 245-year-old building, as well as rehearsal rooms, offices and accommodation for touring theatre companies.

The council is also testing the market to find a new operator from the performing arts sector for the venue.

Funding of £2.2m has been allocated to the project as part of the Margate Town Deal, but the council says significant external financing is needed. 

To raise funds, Thanet Council has applied to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a further £3.2m. It is also in conversation with Arts Council England about applying to the Department of Culture Media and Sport’s Cultural Development Fund, launching in 2024. 
 
Ruth Duckworth, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Property at the council, said: “The Theatre Royal is an important historic performance asset, and plays a key role in Margate’s leisure offering. The project to restore and relaunch it is highly ambitious, and it will not be possible without the support of other major funders, an operator with vision and resources, and the support of the community. 

“The Theatre Royal has the potential to provide employment and training opportunities for young people in performing arts and creative careers. It is a truly unique heritage stage, and I would love to see homegrown talent performing in high quality, locally made productions, as well as visiting national and international theatre productions.”

Proposals to sell off a theatre in Worcester to help pay for a council regeneration project have been scrapped.

Funds from the sale of the 350-seat Swan Theatre were earmarked to go toward a multimillion-pound project to build a new arts venue in the city on the site of the listed Scala Theatre and Corn Exchange buildings.

Original plans for the redevelopment of the Scala site, backed by an £18m grant from the government's Future High Streets Fund, have also been dropped after construction costs for the project almost doubled. A consortium of arts and creative organisations has been engaged to advise Worcester City Council on a revised plan for the arts venue.

Worcester Theatres, which runs the Swan Theatre and the city’s Huntingdon Hall, had been due to take up new headquarters at Scala Theatre.

A spokesperson for Worcester Theatres said: “We are very happy in our current home and will continue to run both the Swan Theatre and Huntingdon Hall for the foreseeable future, bringing a fantastic varied programme of events to Worcester’s city centre.

“While we will not have a role in operating the new Scala venue, we are very pleased the project is continuing to develop and look forward to seeing how the space will be designed and operated as a new arts venue accessible to everyone.

“Perhaps one day even our Worcester Repertory Company may be able to perform there, but of course, until more plans are revealed, it is difficult to say.”

Scottish Opera's plans for its new location on a former industrial estate have been released.

The regeneration project, currently in the consultation stages, will see the Glasgow-based company relocate its head office from the city's Charing Cross area to new premises on Spiers Wharf.

The new premises will sit between the existing Edington Street production studios and the canal towpath. Plans for the mixed-use development will incorporate rehearsal and performance spaces as well as film facilities, office and production space and two student accommodation blocks.

Scottish Opera’s new home will include an education and outreach hub with adaptable performance spaces that can function as a recording studio.

The consultation proposal states that the submitted development plans would “help to secure Scottish Opera’s presence within Glasgow for the next 60-plus years by rationalising and consolidating three of our current scattered five premises under one roof to demonstrate measurable economic, business, and artistic advantage”. 

Scottish Opera will submit its complete planning application in early 2024, with construction expected to begin in early 2025.

A new museum in Perth costing £27m has been given an official opening date for 2024.

Perth Museum will open after a multi-million-pound refurbishment of the former city hall over Easter weekend next year.

Partially funded by £10m of UK Government investment through the Tay Cities Deal and by Perth and Kinross Council, the museum will showcase Perth’s place in ancient and modern Scotland as the nation’s first capital.

Its collection will include the Stone of Destiny, used in King Charles's coronation, and a sword belonging to Bonnie Prince Charlie, which returns to Scotland for the first time since being made in Perth in 1739.

Councillor Grant Laing, Leader of Perth and Kinross Council, said: “Perth Museum will be a landmark attraction that brings Scotland’s history to life and is the culmination of our long-term cultural regeneration vision for Perth.

“It will significantly increase visitors from across the UK and internationally. It has created new skills and employment opportunities, and it will ignite our sense of civic pride in our beautiful and historic city.”
 

Wirral Council has revealed its plans for the borough’s stint as Liverpool City Region Borough of Culture next year.

Planned events include a permanent public art project in East Wirral, an arts festival in New Brighton and activities carried out by libraries, the Floral Pavillion and Williamson Art Gallery.

A statement from the council says the events “should be a celebration of Wirral people and places and a showcase for its creative communities and the power of culture and heritage in regeneration”.

The council is investing £800,000 in the programme of events, with £200,000 coming from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, alongside funding from the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Town Deal funds.

Event management and production costs are being outsourced following a £620,000 cut to the council’s budget. Local press has reported those who are receiving grants have been encouraged to get additional funding to “enhance delivery and outcomes”. 

A different Liverpool borough hosts the city region’s borough of culture programme each year. The last time Wirral staged the event was in 2019, while this year’s host is St Helens.

Planners have given the go-ahead for the Grand Theatre in Blackpool to undergo “urgent” repairs after it was discovered that rainwater had leaked through parts of the roof earlier this year.

The work on the grade-II listed building is expected to cost half a million pounds and be completed by spring 2024. It is hoped that a funding bid to Arts Council England will help finance the project.

Blackpool Council said repairs were "urgently required” to make the theatre watertight but added that work "would not affect the character or significance" of the building.

In a submission supporting the plans, the Theatres Trust cautioned that the venue's future could be in question without the intervention.

It described the theatre, which opened in 1894, as “one of the finest works of renowned theatre architect Frank Matcham” and said that the renovations would “address deficiencies with the building which, if left unresolved, would result in continued deterioration and compromise the building’s significance as well as its ability to operate”.

The Trust added: “It is an important and valued cultural venue for Blackpool, hosting a busy programme which both meets the needs of local people as well as contributing to Blackpool's visitor offer.

"Therefore, efforts to support its ongoing conservation and operations are to be supported."