The Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury has announced it will continue to be part of the Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Funding Programme, with a new award worth £256,479 over the next three years.

The Roses has also been successful with a Small Scale Capital grant of £250,000 with which to make urgent improvements to its 40 year old building, including the replacement of the roof and the installation of a customer lift to enable the building to become fully accessible.

The Roses will concentrate on developing its refurbishment plans over the summer with the launch of a major fundraising appeal planned for the autumn. Full details of the theatre’s programming plans and capital plans will be available following further discussions with Arts Council England and other partners.

Deborah Rees, Director of The Roses, said: “We are absolutely delighted with these major funding awards, which are a real vote of confidence in the quality of the programme here at The Roses and our ambitious plans. The success of The Roses is due to the hard work from all the team here – our staff, our board and our volunteers. We are delighted to bring this investment into Tewkesbury and look forward to realising our future plans.”

Phil Gibby, Area Director South West, The Arts Council said: “We’re delighted to support the enhancement of The Roses through this award from our National Lottery-funded Capital programme. The building refurbishment project in partnership with Tewkesbury Borough Council will address major access issues within the building, add new facilities and improve the organisation’s sustainability in the long term. The Roses is an important regional theatre doing great work within its local community and we look forward to seeing the venue flourish with the help of our investment.”

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For more about The Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury, visit: www.rosestheatre.org