One of the West Midlands longest established youth theatre organisations has today revealed that it has successfully been awarded almost £400,000 of arts council money to create a permanent half a million pound purpose built home in Wolverhampton.

Staff and members of the Central Youth Theatre are said to be overjoyed at hearing the  ‘amazing’ news after it was revealed a bid for Arts Council funding had been successful.

The money will be used to transform the former Co-operative store building on Lichfield Street (across the road from the cities Grand Theatre)  into a permanent home for the company.

Director Jane Ward said

This is going to be a fantastic facility for young people for many years to come and young people will be at the forefront of helping to re-generate Wolverhampton city centre.

This has been the most amazing news. Although this money has been awarded by the Arts Council, it is a tribute to all those who have donated money to our original campaign to make the former Co-operative building our permanent home.

Fabulous New Facilities

Artist impressions of the scheme show how the new site will transform the street and it is hoped work on the transformation will start later this year.

The work will see the building transformed into three rehearsal studios, offices, a theatre wardrobe and film editing suite as well as a café bar and social area for young people.

Large windows will give shoppers a glimpse behind the scenes of rehearsals and costumes as they walk past the venue while plans to restore the shop canopy will see the theatre’s name up in lights.

It will mean a permanent future for us, bringing everything together in one place for the first time in our 32 year history. It will extend the range of things that we can offer and the standard at which we can do work and raise our profile massively by being in the town centre.

The Central Youth Theatre have raised £55,000 themselves, through a relentless amount of fundraising and through kind donations.

Arts Council  Funding

The funding has been awarded through the Arts Council’s small capital funding programme which supports organisations to develop resilience by giving them the right buildings and equipment to deliver their work, and to become more sustainable businesses.

Peter Knott, area director at Arts Council England, said:

Central Youth Theatre plays an important role in Wolverhampton’s arts scene, giving young people the chance to develop and share their creative talents.

We’re delighted to be investing in plans to give the company a permanent home for the future. By equipping this building with the facilities they need, we hope to see our investment support the region’s creative economy to thrive.

Central Youth Theatre is one of three organisations in the West Midlands to be successful in the latest round of investment from the Arts Council’s small capital programme.

A total of £840,000 will be invested in the three projects in the West Midlands while 39 organisations across England will receive a share of £10.8 million.

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