The Met theatre in Bury have been awarded £3m by Arts Council England (ACE) which will go go towards comprehensive developments to the impressive Victorian building on Market Street in the centre of the town.
The Investment will be ACE will be part of a £4.5million refurbishment programme designed to transform the venue in 2015, making it more fit for purpose while not losing the historic original features.
Plans include a mezzanine floor in the Main Theatre, modernisation of public facilities and improvements to technical and backstage areas that will improve the programme for its growing audiences.
There will also be further developments in Edwin Street Recording Studios to facilitate work with theatre companies and create working spaces for cultural organisations on the unused first floor.
David Agnew, Director of The Met comments: “This is an important step for the project. While not a guarantee, it allows us to continue conversations with other stakeholders about investment in the building to better reflect the quality of work we are presenting.”
The theatre, situated in the centre of the town, opened in 1980 by Bury Metropolitan Arts Association and is the town’s premier live arts venue, with two performance spaces, Edwin Street Recording Studio and Automatic café.
It presents a full programme of music, theatre, comedy and family shows throughout the year plus annual special events including the Ramsbottom Festival.
The building itself is a large Victorian neo-classical building, constructed in the late 1840s by the 13th Earl of Derby, and designed by Sidney Smirke who is best known today as the architect of the circular reading room at the British Museum.
It was originally used as a banqueting hall, meeting room, police station and magistrates court and as a civic hall by Bury Council for many years, before being taken over by BMAA in 1980 and has been operated as an arts centre ever since.
The proposed designs for the building have been developed by JMArchitects with Gardeiner and Theobold.
