Major revamp for theatre ahead of City of Culture year

A major refurbishment of Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre has been given the go-ahead.

The city council granted listed building consent, which will enable the theatre to carry out phase one of its £4.8m redevelopment.

Belgrade Theatre’s head of development, Helen Hotchkiss, tolda BBC News: “With Coventry’s year as UK City of Culture less than two years away, the 61-year-old theatre is in need of some refurbishment in order to be a sparkling gem for 2021 and beyond.”

The project, which will be completed by September 2020, has already secured £3.7m funding from Coventry City Council; the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, plus Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

A fundraising campaign called Play Your Part has been launched to raise the remaining £600,000 needed.