Plans for Worcester arts centre submitted

Worcester City Council has submitted plans for a new arts centre, despite a significant budget gap.

The city council is persevering with plans to upgrade the former Scala Theatre, although several aspects of the proposed project have already been scrapped due to funding shortfalls.

In a statement submitted along with the bid, the local authority wrote that “every element of the aspirational brief” had become “significantly beyond the budget of the project”.

Parts of the original brief that will no longer be carried out include converting the neighbouring Grade II-listed Corn Exchange into a 110-seat venue and plans for a dance studio and rehearsal space.

The authority is waiting for government approval to divert £6m away from other projects, the BBC reports.

Councillors last month voted to continue with plans to build the new venue, despite fears that the final cost could not be accurately estimated.

After rethinking plans to sell the Swan Theatre, the authority admitted the project could be as much as £850,000 short, even if the government backs its request to move £6m.