Grand Theatre expansion on way after £2m award

Wolverhampton's Grand Theatre will use the funding to buy the former Slade Rooms music venue

The Grand Theatre in Wolverhampton is to buy the former Slade Rooms music venue after being awarded £2m by the government to expand.

The landmark theatre will purchase the building on Broad Street to create a 250-seat studio theatre.

It will also house rehearsal rooms, smaller performance spaces and facilities for exhibitions.

Plans to buy the former post office building next door were announced in 2018 but have been shelved, the theatre said.

Chief executive Adrian Jackson said: "The Slade Rooms has been at risk of loss and will now be preserved for generations within our vision for the future."

The grant is part of the government's "levelling up" funds which aims to save more than 70 important community spaces across the UK.

Theatre chairman Philip Barnett said he was delighted to develop the venue to benefit people in Wolverhampton and surrounding areas.

Plans for the venue's ground floor will be released by the end of next year, the theatre said.

More funding will be sourced to help develop the entire building, the theatre added.