Watford Palace and Nuffield Theatre receive share of £5.5m ACE funding

Watford Palace Theatre, the Lyric Hammersmith and the Nuffield Theatre in Southampton are to benefit from a share of £5.5 million of funding from Arts Council England.

The Lyric Hammersmith has received £500,000 towards additional costs of its refurbishment, with Watford Palace Theatre being given £300,000 towards enhancing rehearsal facilities and improving energy efficiency.

Southampton’s Nuffield has been granted £151,000 towards the cost of buying video projection equipment.

The £5.5 million is from ACE’s Capital Department Expenditure Limit grant-in aid-support, which can only be used to fund certain projects, including buying capital assets.

ACE’s CDEL money has to be spent within the financial year, or it must be returned to the government.

For 2015 to 18, ACE identified national portfolio organisations that fit with CDEL requirements, and funding for these projects has already been included in the organisations’ funding arrangements for the next three years.

However, there is £5.5 million left to allocate before the end of the financial year, and ACE has now identified projects that are able to use the money according to CDEL criteria.

Other projects funded include the Roundhouse in London, which has been given £250,000 towards building improvements, and theatre company Walk the Plank, which has been awarded £350,000 to enable it to buy a site for new premises in Salford.