Hull theatre reopening delayed for City of Culture festival

Hull New Theatre is set to undergo a £11.7m refurbishmnet

The reopening of Hull New Theatre will be delayed until the summer of 2017, missing most of the City of Culture arts festival.

The theatre is undergoing an £16m refurbishment and was originally planned to open by Easter next year.

Now Hull City Council has revealed the venue will not be ready until August at the earliest.

Steven Bayes, the Labour councillor responsible for tourism, said the delay was due to uncertainty over funding.

"Clearly everyone would have liked to have seen the project finished as soon as possible in 2017, but we feel this is the best method of getting as much done for as long a period of time."

Last week, the Chancellor George Osborne announced a £13m grant towards Hull hosting the year long City of Culture arts festival.