£1.5M investment in arts and performance venues in Dorchester
Thomas Hardye School Theatre is being redeveloped
Two performance and arts venues may be better than one – according to Dorchester councillors.
They have welcomed a £1.5m cash injection which will help meet the cost of redeveloping the Thomas Hardye School Theatre and the town’s Municipal Buildings.
Additional payments to the projects will come from the town council, Dorchester Arts and the school.
The £1.5m comes mainly from developer contributions through the Duchy development at Poundbury, but also from other larger building projects in the town over recent years.
Local councillor Andy Canning said the fact that the two schemes were going ahead was important for Dorchester, especially after the failure to attract Arts England backing for the proposed £12m arts venue at The Maltings in Brewery Square.
He said the new projects would result in a 400-plus seat theatre at the school and 200-plus at the Municipal Buildings with a revamp planned for the building to widen its use beyond performance arts.
Dorchester Town Council is putting £250,000 into the building with the school contributing £600,000 to the theatre improvements.
“We will end up with two venues rather than one, but offering facilities to different sorts of audiences,” said Cllr Canning.
Cllrs Stella Jones and Les Fry also welcomed the decision, made at this week’s Dorset Council cabinet meeting.
Cllr Jones said the investment would provide for a range of arts which would be available for the wider area, not just Dorchester, a view shared by Cllr Fry: “I was disappointed when the Maltings didn’t go ahead…but this is exciting for everyone in the west of Dorset,” he said.
Other Dorchester projects to benefit from the local development fund include new recreational facilities at the Great Field to include an open air amphitheatre, a parkour area, and further formal and informal recreation spaces due to be completed mid 2021, cost around £1.3m.
Previous donations have included money for the Shire Hall, Dorset County Museum, the town’s football club and the relocation of the Dorchester Boxing Club.