Capital boost for Cumbria

A successful bid to the first round of Arts Council England’s (ACE) large-scale capital investment programme will mean a new lease of life for West Cumbria’s Rosehill Theatre, the only professional theatre in West Cumbria. The £2m grant will contribute towards a £4.5m scheme to provide contemporary front of house, backstage, exhibition and catering facilities, more performance space, a renovated historic auditorium, and a home for work with the community and young people. It will also provide opportunities for new commercial enterprise and income generation to support a new business model. Only two of the 26 awards made in this funding round went to organisations in the North West, and ACE has come under fire from the press for making awards to the usual suspects in a London-centric list of award winners. Nearly £48m of the £114m fund went to the Southbank Centre, the National Theatre, the Royal Opera House and English National Opera. This was the first ACE capital programme since 2003 and organisations bidding for renovations and refurbishments that “deliver sustainability and resilience” were prioritised. The next round of the capital funding programme will open in the summer.