Yeovil's Octagon Theatre revamp delayed after revised plans

The theatre has been closed since May 2023

A theatre which is being revamped may not reopen until Christmas 2026, due to a change in plans.

The Octagon Theatre in Yeovil closed in May 2023 for what was meant to be a year-long renovation.

The original £30m plans were halted over high inflation and interest rates, but revised plans costing £15m have been revealed ahead of a council meeting on Wednesday.

If approved, work could begin in 2025.

Under the new plans, £10m will come from a grant provided by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

A further £3.75m will be provided by Yeovil Town Council, which agreed in principle to take over the venue as part of its annual budget setting.

The regeneration plans have been revised

The remaining £1.25m will be sourced from other grants, with the council anticipating no further funding needing to be allocated.

A freedom of information request revealed that the council has already spent £1.7m on "pre-construction costs", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

This includes nearly £789,000 for detailed design work, more than £20,000 for surveys of the building (e.g. to locate any asbestos or defective concrete), more than £600,000 in "general costs" to South Somerset District Council - where the project originated - and nearly £281,000 in fees.

The updated renovation plans cost £15m

The council confirmed these costs had been met entirely through its own budget, rather than through the £10m central government grant.

Officers declined to specify how much it would cost to simply undo the existing intrusion into the structure to reopen the theatre in its current form.

A spokesman said: "We do not have an estimate of the cost of rectification of the 'intrusive survey works' needed to reopen the theatre, as this will be part of the wider scheme."

If the new project is taken forward, the council will submit the final business case to DCMS later in the year.