Six theatres share £510,000 of eco-project funds

Birmingham Rep and Battersea Arts Centre are among six venues that will receive a share of £510,000 for projects to improve environmental sustainability.

The funds have been awarded by the Theatre Trust’s Theatre Improvement Scheme. Since its launch in since 2017 the scheme, backed by the Wolfson Foundation, has awarded £750,000 to 46 theatres.

As a recipient in this funding round, Battersea Arts Centre will use its £18,620 grant to cut energy consumption by undertaking a major upgrade of its building management system to reduce unnecessary heat production.

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Birmingham Rep's £20,000 award will go toward the installation of new fans in its main house to better circulate warm air throughout the auditorium. 

The New Vic in Newcastle-under-Lyme will receive £20,000 to replace or renovate original 1980s windows in the backstage areas, a move which will reduce the building’s CO2 emissions by an estimated  5%.

Both Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham and Park Page Theatre in London will receive £17,362 and £20,000 respectively, to switch to an LED lighting rig. The former estimates energy savings of 31,672 KWh per year, worth £4,000.

Meanwhile, Storyhouse in Chester, which acts as a community warm hub in the winter, plans to use its £20,000 grant to treble its solar energy capacity by extending an existing array of solar panels on its roof.

“The projects we have funded with Theatres Trust highlight how practical changes can greatly improve an organisation’s environmental and financial sustainability," said Paul Ramsbottom, Chief Executive of the Wolfson Foundation.

The Wolfson Foundation has renewed its partnership with Theatres Trust, committing a further £510,000 to the Improvement Scheme over the next three years. 

“At a time when the UK’s performing arts sector is facing significant challenges, we are pleased to be able to renew our partnership with Theatres Trust for a further three years to continue support for imaginative and important responses to the climate crisis."

The next round of the Theatre Improvement Scheme will reopen for applications in late spring 2024.