Cambridge Junction awarded £461,000 for building improvements

The money would be spent on updating equipment and making the space "more accessible", the venue said

Cambridge Junction has been awarded almost half a million pounds for improvements to the building.

The money was from a £22.7m investment programme by Arts Council England to help venues after the pandemic.

The venue hosts a variety of events including theatre shows, live music, comedy and club nights.

Artistic director, Matt Burman, said the £461,678 grant was "a fantastic sign of how valued our programmes are to the city, county and region".

Cambridge Junction holds hundreds of events each year across its three spaces, welcoming about 100,000 people.

The venue, which is located on the city's former cattle market and opened in 1990, also supports theatre and music education programmes.

The venue attracts bands touring nationally, such as the Psychedelic Furs who played at the venue in April

The money would be used to update equipment with better quality and more energy efficient apparatus, which could reduce repair and hire costs, the venue said.

It would also be spent on making its social and community spaces more accessible.

Cambridge Junction said the money would help it become more financially resilient

Mr Burman said the arts centre would "make a number of key improvements" to the building.

"These will help us be more accessible to audiences and communities," he said.

He added that the investment would "greatly strengthen our offer over the coming years".

Money given to the New Theatre in Peterborough would make it more environmentally sustainable, Arts Council England said

Peterborough's New Theatre was also awarded £303,910 as part of the programme.

The money would be used to buy the lighting rig, sound, and internal communication equipment the venue currently rents, as well as replacing their house lighting with LED versions.

Arts Council England said the savings on renting equipment would allow the theatre to invest more into its development.

Darren Henley, chief executive of Arts Council England, said its investments were "making sure that people from every part of the country can continue enjoying all the benefits [culture] delivers for years to come".