Stone’s Crown Wharf Theatre is to receive almost half-a-million pounds, enough to finish off the new community theatre, as well significant funding for Stone’s scout building.
Stafford Borough Council has been awarded one of the largest pots of money in the country from the government’s ‘UK Shared Prosperity Fund’ after successfully putting forward schemes to help regeneration, climate change and culture.
The council has drawn up a string of projects that the money would back – including the new Crown Wharf Theatre and scout building in Stone, the History Centre, town centre regeneration, supporting businesses through new grants schemes and creating an enterprise centre to encourage investment in rural businesses.
The money has come from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and is part of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda.
In response to the news, representatives of The Crown Wharf Theatre told A Little Bit of Stone:
“We are delighted to confirm the charity has been successful in securing significant grant funding that will enable us to complete the outstanding installation works and open the doors to the Crown Wharf Theatre in 2023.
Thanks to the enthusiastic and expert support we have received from Stafford Borough Council, nearly £500,000 has been secured from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Firstly, this will enable the installation of the heating, ventilation and cooling system, which for some time has been the most significant outstanding challenge. Beyond that, it means the community cinema equipment can be in place from day one, and the charity can kit the theatre out with excellent lighting, sound and audio-visual equipment. All this will enable the theatre to achieve its mission of bringing professional standard facilities to Stone for all to enjoy whilst also helping to attract professional touring shows, performers and visitors to our town.
As far back as 2018 Stone Town Council and Joule’s Brewery recognised the potential in what we were trying to achieve and played key roles in getting this project up and running. For several years since, through the amazing support of volunteers, local businesses, seat sponsors and Founding Partners, the town has come together to develop an empty shell into what today, looks every bit like a theatre. It’s thanks to all the hard work, perseverance and wholehearted community support that we were able to demonstrate just how much Stone’s new theatre, cinema and community space deserved this significant funding grant to get the job done.
Harri Capernaros – Crown Wharf Theatre Trustee
“Completing the building will be huge milestone for the charity but is in fact only the beginning when it comes to bringing this space to life. It has been a people powered project to date and its future success lies in a far great number of people getting involved, whether using the space, volunteering their time or simply enjoying the wide variety of entertainment and activities on offer.
As a volunteer run and not-for-profit organisation, we believe the Crown Wharf Theatre has every chance of becoming a self-sustaining asset to Stone that can improve our wonderful town and the lives of people living here, but to make this happen, we will all have a part to play”.
Rob Kenney – Crown Wharf Theatre Trustee
“It’s a huge cherry on top of the Crown Wharf Theatre Christmas cake that will enable the trustees to deliver an even higher quality theatre than anticipated”
Joule’s Brewery
The brewery team and the whole Joules team at Crown Wharf will be overjoyed to hear that funding has been secured to complete the theatre; this is amazing news and a profound moment for Stone which will have a dynamic and independent theatre for community use for the very long term. This is an investment in people and community; in tough times, here is something that can bring us together and share a little joy.
Steve Nuttall, Managing Director, Joule’s Brewery
“I recall the initial idea of Crown Wharf and what we could do with the opportunity to create something very special right at the heart of Stone Town adjacent to the canal. The theatre felt at the time like a longshot, but the vision of excellence and engagement with so many community groups, the creative flair and passion of local groups such as Stone Revellers, the dedication to community theatre and the sheer energy of the team bowled us over, we really caught the bug and joined their mission for what could be created.
We believed so fully in the people and the idea that Joule’s constructed the purpose-built auditorium shell, the stores and back of house, all of this on spec, the idea was so powerful and team so investable that we just felt that they could make the rest of it all happen. Today they have done just that and garnered the support of the Borough Council alongside other amazing grant providers and a whole army of local supporters, private and business who have done and given so much already. It is the most heartening and rewarding project which I have been involved with, I cannot say just how pleased I am for this group of dedicated and creative people and for Stone Town as whole. We are absolutely thrilled to be part of the town and of this amazing project.”
Please visit www.crownwharftheatre.org.uk for more information about the project.”
Councillor Frances Beatty, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Planning, said:
“This allocation of money was one of the highest that any district council was awarded and is further demonstration of the confidence the government has in us to deliver for our community.
“There are so many exciting things planned, starting up or ongoing, in the borough and we have drawn up a list of ways we can assist a number of projects using this money and I am confident this will support different sectors of the borough – such as the rural and visitor economy.”
The total allocation to Stafford Borough Council was £4,673,295. It covers a three-year period to 2025 and is aimed at boosting communities, supporting local businesses and improving skills as part of the government’s ‘Levelling Up’ fund.
Along with helping to kit out the auditorium at the theatre in Stone, finishing the refurbishment of the town’s scout building and supporting the £7m History Centre development in Eastgate Street, other areas the funding will be spent on include:
- £1.5 million towards the Stafford town centre transformation programme
- Around £1m to drive the visitor economy
- £250,000 on climate change projects
- £500,000 for grants to help local businesses grow and
- £1m to support business innovation
And the council is also hoping to receive confirmation from Government for another £500,000 to support businesses and communities, specifically in the rural areas of the borough.
This latest funding is on top of the significant investment that the borough has attracted recently for major projects, including the ‘Future High Street Fund’, the proposed Meecebrook Garden community, the Stafford Station Gateway scheme and the Stafford Western Access Road in partnership with the County Council.
Work is well underway on the new £28 million skills and innovation centre for Stafford College – with a planning application recently submitted for their £13 Institute of Technology.
