£1.1m improvements to Mansfield’s theatre and museum as eight new culture jobs also planned

Mansfield Council has allocated a raft of maintenance and improvement works between now and 2026 to improve the two town centre venues.

It is part of the authority’s three-year capital programme of investments with £1,136,000 budgeted for between 2023/24 and 2025/26.

The Palace Theatre will get an £80,000 lift upgrade in 2023/24, improvement works totalling £238,000 and a further £150,000 for air conditioning.

Suspended ceilings and floor coverings will be improved between 2024 and 2026, costing £50,000, alongside a roof replacement at £54,000.

The theatre and adjacent Mansfield Museum will benefit from £50,000 of LED lightbulb upgrades, costing £100,000 in total, alongside redecorations costing £31,000 and toilet refurbishments totalling £28,000.

Other improvements to the Leeming Street buildings include replacing single-glazed windows and separate glass replacements.

The authority says the works have been planned as part of long-term investment into arts and culture.

The theatre has a full year of shows planned for 2023 and says its recent pantomime “broke box office records”, which, the council says, proves “how much our residents value these important assets”.

Coun Stuart Richardson, authority portfolio holder for regeneration and growth, said: “By continuing to deliver a range of shows and exhibitions, we are enriching the cultural lives of local people and beyond.

“Investing in these assets is also helping drive more footfall to the town centre, which brings economic benefits for our small businesses and economy.

“The maintenance and enhancement work will improve our visitor experience to both venues while ensuring their long-term viability.”

The work comes after the authority was awarded more than £1.7m from the national Arts Council to boost cultural activities across the district over three years.

Eight projects will launch, including creative activities in ‘priority communities’ and a ‘learning together’ education scheme.

As part of the Arts Council cash, the council is to create eight jobs inside its cultural services team to develop the projects.

The roles will work out at 7.67 full-time equivalent roles between April 2023 and March 2026 and will cost about £800,000 over the three years.

Coun Richardson said: “We are committed to these projects and have an exciting and extensive programme to share in due course with residents.”