Worcester Scala Theatre plans have almost doubled since 2020

The city was given nearly £18m by the government in 2020 to regenerate the northern side of the city centre as part of the Future High Streets Fund

The cost of building a new performing arts venue in Worcester has almost doubled, latest figures show.

Plans by the city council to revamp the Scala Theatre have now risen to £13m - almost double the cost from three years ago.

In July, plans for a 500-seat venue in the listed building were scrapped over a multimillion-pound shortfall.

They were replaced by proposals for a new, smaller, more flexible, performance space.

The city was given nearly £18m by the government in 2020 to regenerate the northern side of the city centre as part of the Future High Streets Fund - including more than £7m to renovate and reopen the listed Scala Theatre in Angel Place and neighbouring Corn Exchange building as a new theatre.

But spiralling construction costs meant that much of the council's vision for Angel Place and the surrounding area had to be abandoned to enable more money to spent on the Scala Theatre work.

The council said it would press on with the multimillion-pound art centre development despite cost concerns and a likely budget shortfall.

The new venue is expected to host music, drama, film screenings and comedy with the redesign expected to cost at least £250,000.

Last month, the council said it would not be signing off on the new plans until they were backed by the arts community, but has since said a "creative consortium" of several arts organisations will help design the new performing venue and have a say on how it will be run.