Warwick Arts Centre plans massive revamp

Warwick Arts Centre has submitted a detailed planning application to extend and improve its existing complex over the next three years.

The multi-million pound 20:20 Capital Project seeks to refresh and renew the Arts Centre’s existing building, constructed in 1974, and create an updated and larger space in which to continue its artistic and cultural programme.

It is a major re-development for a complex that is already one of the biggest hubs for the arts and culture outside London.

Plans submitted for approval to Coventry City Council envisage a major upgrade for the existing building, plus a new-build to house three HD digital auditoriums, a large ground floor gallery to showcase art, sculpture and photography and a spacious new-look foyer offering a more welcoming environment. The plans also include open spaces for eating, drinking and socialising.

Scheduled to take three years to complete, the first stage of the project, to upgrade the existing spaces, will begin in October this year. The Arts Centre’s Butterworth Hall and Helen Martin Studio will remain open throughout, but other venues will be temporarily closed at different times over the three-year period, and there are plans for a temporary theatre on-site.

Alan Rivett, Director at Warwick Arts Centre, said, “Since opening in 1974 we have welcomed more than 10 million visitors through Warwick Arts Centre’s doors and have established ourselves as a major artistic venue across the region and the UK.

“We have continually evolved and adapted to make sure that we have always been at the forefront of presenting the very best in arts and entertainment. Our commitment to our diverse audiences within Coventry and Warwickshire and further afield has always been at the heart of everything we do and by autumn 2020 we will be a much bigger and better Warwick Arts Centre.”

Project Director Andrea Pulford said, “Parts of the existing building do not meet modern day building standards, so it is vital that the development takes place. The project will be completed in two stages, with maintenance to the oldest part of the building taking a year and the new-build two years.”

Full plans and a timeline of activity will be available to view on Warwick Arts Centre’s website soon.