Charity arts centre refurbishment completed
Kirkgate CentreWork to refurbish a charity's arts and heritage centre has been completed.
About £300k has been spent upgrading facilities and equipment at the Kirkgate Centre in Cockermouth, with most of the funding coming from Arts Council England.
Improvements made during the 18-month project included new stage lights and audio equipment for performances hosted in the space.
Chief executive Emma Heys said: "This is a significant milestone for the Kirkgate."
"We're incredibly grateful to all the funders who've played such a significant role in helping us bring the facilities within our much-loved, but very old building up to 21st Century standards and contribute to a bright future," she said.
It was also funded by grants from the Benny Walker Charitable Trust and the Rural England Prosperity Fund, managed by Cumberland Council.
Kirkgate CentreThe charity has improved accessibility to the building - a former Victorian primary school - with a refurbished lift and new disabled bathroom.
Lighting has also been upgraded in its downstairs bar, which Heys said would provide "crisp and bright lighting for exhibitions, as well as subtle mood lighting for more intimate events and parties".
Operations manager Katie Gentry said some of the charity's equipment before the upgrade had been "lacking".
She said younger volunteers had been "keen" to learn how to use the new equipment, for which they were receiving training.
"Everyone's been feeling the pinch of the financial situation we're in, and it's amazing we're still here when so many venues have closed," she said.
"But it's really important to give artists a place to share their work and for local communities to have somewhere to see performances on the doorstep - you don't have to get a train down to Manchester."
