Four venues on the Theatres Trust Theatres at Risk Register are to receive funding and advisory support to help them with the next stage towards their preservation.
£45,000 from the Theatres at Risk Capacity Building Programme will be split between Brighton Hippodrome, Co-op Hall Ramsbottom, Grand Theatre Doncaster and King’s Theatre Kirkcaldy.
Theatres Trust, architecture adviser Claire Appleby said, "we believe every theatre on our Theatres at Risk list has the potential to be returned for use by their communities, providing performance venues of types currently lacking in their local areas and bringing much needed footfall to beleaguered high streets. We are pleased to support these theatres as we know from experience that these early stages can make a crucial difference to the progress of theatre revitalisation projects. "
Grade II* listed Brighton Hippodrome will receive £8,000 to develop a fundraising strategy which will support its case for its future as a theatre. It is the finest surviving example of a circus theatre, whilst Doncaster Grand, an ornate Grade II listed Victorian theatre, will use its £11,500 grant to part-fund a viability study.
King’s Theatre Kirkcaldy, which opened 1904, has a possible future as a performing arts venue. The grant of £7,000 will allow its owners to commission a community feasibility study to better understand audience and market demand.
The remaining £19,000 will go to Ramsbottom Co-op Hall which became Grade II listed. This rare early surviving example of a Co-operative Hall will be the subject of a market appraisal and a building valuation survey supported by the grant.