Electric Palace cinema in Harwich given £151,000 grant

Following its closure in 1956, a trust was formed to restore the derelict venue in the 1970s and it reopened in 1981

One of the oldest cinemas in the country has received funding to help restore flooring that is creating "serious damp issues".

Electric Palace in Harwich, which first opened in 1911, is closed until 2022 because of ongoing restoration works.

It has now received a £151,291 grant from Historic England and the government's culture recovery fund.

The venue previously had asbestos removed and its roof stabilised.

Work at the cinema was undertaken over fears for the stability of the roof, following incidents at a theatre in London in 2013, which saw 76 people injured, and at Ipswich's Regent Theatre in 2011, when no-one was inside.

The Electric Palace opened on King's Quay Street in 1911, closed in 1956 and the Grade II listed building reopened in 1981.

The venue said the new grant would "be used to repair flooring that is creating serious damp issues".

The cinema opened in 1911, before Harwich was on the electricity network, so it was powered by a gas generator