Regeneration

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."

Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens in Northumberland has reopened to the public after a major two-year conservation and revival project carried out by English Heritage.

Partially funded by a £3.4m grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, as well as support from Garfield Weston Foundation and the Foyle Foundation, the project included work to conserve the venue’s historic hall, castle and coach house and a rejuvenation of the property’s 30-acre gardens.

“The Belsay that visitors see today comprises three distinct but related elements: a medieval castle, a Greek-Revival country house, which superseded it as a family residence at the beginning of the 19th century, and a beautiful garden linking the two buildings,” said Mark Douglas, English Heritage’s Properties Curator.

The property, designed by Sir Charles Monk, is one of the earliest Greek Revival houses in Britain.

The restoration addressed problems including a leaking roof and gutters that had been causing damp issues for over two hundred years and the loss of much of the original planting material in the venue’s Grade I-listed gardens.

The original roof has now been replaced and the castle’s medieval stonework repaired. The gardens have been restored by landscape designer and gardener Dan Pearson, who planned a new scheme that maintained its historic character.

Pearson and his team planted more than 80,000 new plants, with 35,000 alone in the hall’s woodland area. The project also restored previously lost historic views on Crag Wood’s scenic walk.

Pearson’s “plantsmanship and painterly eye have helped to bring out the individual character of the extensive garden areas,” said John Watkins, English Heritage’s Head of Gardens and Landscapes.

The upgraded site includes a new projected animation and soundscape centring on the story of The Wildman, a medieval mythical figure which features on the coat of arms of the Middleton family, who owned Belsay for over 700 years.

It also includes new family-friendly spaces, a children’s woodland play-and-learn area with an outdoor classroom and a café with renewable energy and rainwater harvesting located in the historic coach house.

A museum charting the history of glass production has reopened following a £1m refurbishment.

The World of Glass in St Helens celebrates the Merseyside town's "proud history" of glass production, executive director Pete Frost said.

Originally opened in 2000, the museum has been refurbished as part of wider investment in the town from the government's Town Deal Fund.

The museum is built alongside the town's Sankey canal and around a Grade II-listed tank house on a network of tunnels originally used for heat and airflow.

The refurbishment includes updated, interactive exhibits designed to add "a layer of hands-on engagement" for visitors.

As well as exhibits telling the story of glass making, the museum holds a collection of thousands of glass objects from around the world.

Curator Hannah Billinge said: "It is an important collection that is one of a kind."

Entry to the museum is free.