What will £3m of culture and arts funding mean?

Nearly £3m of government funding is coming to culture and arts venues in Suffolk for improvements and upgrades.

Britten Pears Arts, which runs Snape Maltings Concert Hall, has been given nearly £2m as the venue, which hosts the Aldeburgh Festival and Snape Proms, undergoes a £13.8m refurbishment.

Ipswich County Library has been awarded £500,000 to help with renovations and the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich will receive £529,000.

Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, said: "Cultural organisations are important custodians of local identity and play a key role in the story we tell ourselves as a nation."

Snape Maltings is an arts and cultural hub that includes a concert hall, shops, restaurants and galleries.

Britten Pears Arts said the £1.9m would enable "the second phase of its major capital programme to proceed".

The overall multi-million pound project aims to expand music studios and performance spaces, install a new lift and improve energy efficiency.

This new funding will go towards the cost of restoring the concert hall itself, which was opened by Queen Elizabeth II and composer Benjamin Britten in 1967.

The work is due to start in January 2027 and will include new seating, improved toilets, work to the roof, more energy efficient lighting and repairs to the brickwork.

Snape Maltings said work on the neighbouring Britten Pears Building was nearing completion, and would open for the Aldeburgh Festival this June.

Britten Pears Arts' chief executive, Andrew Comben, said: "We are delighted to be awarded this grant.

"Our founders Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears believed in the power of the arts to connect and be useful to communities and this work will help more communities enjoy this very special place, from artists and performers through to visitors and audience members."

The New Wolsey Theatre, on Civic Drive, said its funding would go towards infrastructure works.

Improvements include better ways to control the temperature in the building and improve how airflow works in the auditorium.

The theatre said it would be a "much more comfortable" venue to visit.

It was hoped the work would be finished by the end of 2027.

David Watson, executive director, called the funding "absolutely transformational".

"What's at the heart of this project is our drive to make the theatre as sustainable as possible from an environmental responsibility point of view," he said.

"The theatre building is coming up to its 50th birthday in 2029 and part of our thinking has been what can we do to make sure the next 50 years are as brilliant as the time that we've had so far?"

The theatre said when the work was complete it hoped to be completely free of any gas usage.

Ipswich County Library, a Grade II* Listed building on Northgate Street, was officially opened on 3 September 1924.

The library service is run by Suffolk County Council, where a spokesperson said it was unable to comment on plans for the funding due to the upcoming local elections on 7 May.

Planning permission was granted in 2025 to build a new foyer, accessible toilets, a new flexible, hireable community space and gallery, and a refurbished cafe area.

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