Work begins to refurbish Grade II listed arts site

Snape Maltings opened in the 19th Century but ceased trading in the 1960s

A multimillion-pound project to upgrade and safeguard a "precious" collection of historic buildings has begun.

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

Its Grade II listed Britten Pears Building is being modernised as part of a £13.8m scheme to expand music studios and performance spaces, install a new lift and improve energy efficiency.

Britten Pears Art charity chief executive Andrew Comben said: "It's a fantastic moment for us to be starting this project, which shores up our buildings, creates new accessibility and makes them sustainable for decades to come."

Britten Pears Art chief executive Andrew Comben said he was thrilled the refurbishment work was up and running

Snape Maltings was first opened as an industrial site in 1846 before operations ceased in the 1960s and the buildings were converted for other uses.

"These buildings are really robust, very precious and have a massive economic impact on this region," Mr Comben added.

"So, it is important we get this right and we look after them for the future.

"Refurbishing the Britten Pears Building will make it much more available to communities and artists, and those with life-limiting conditions."

Hutton Construction managing director David Ball hoped the revamp of the Britten Pears building would be complete by May 2026.

"Sometimes you uncover things that are very unexpected with a building of this age, but we will mitigate any issues we find," he said.

After the Britten Pears Building refurbishment is done, attention will turn to improving and modernising the site's flood defences, concert hall and accommodation.

The Britten Pears Building is being refurbished as part of a £13.8m project to modernise Snape Maltings