Deadline moved to secure reopening of arts venue

Bedworth Civic Hall is due to feature performances by Julie Bromage Dance Academy in July

A deadline to secure the reopening of a Warwickshire entertainment venue has been extended to Friday.

Agreements for a 20-year lease for Bedworth Civic Hall were signed between Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council and a community group in March.

The council said the deadline to secure essential funding was moved after a request from Bedworth Civic Hall Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO).

The CIO hopes to reopen the hall for performances from next month.

The venue, which opened in 1973, has been closed since October 2022 after the council said it could no longer pay running costs.

The council reiterated a 20-year lease for the venue would only take effect if external funding identified in the CIO's business plan was secured.

The organisation was given a fixed window to arrange funding to ensure it was "not put in a financially untenable position", the local authority said.

"We have contractors on site carrying out work to ensure the venue can open to the public again," a spokesperson added.

"Hopefully by then, and when the CIO has completed its obligations, the lease will be able to be completed."

Council contractors are due to finish work on the building by Friday.

The CIO was recently awarded £165,000 by the Act One Community Ownership and Transformation Project to get the venue and a community hub up and running.

Writing on Facebook, Friends of Bedworth Civic Hall said volunteer action days were planned from 11 June to help clean and prepare the building.

Reopening dance shows are planned for 19 and 20 July, with tickets also on sale for other performances, including Roy Chubby Brown and Jack and the Beanstalk.