Theatre to get £812,000 in safeguard bid

More than £800,000 is to be spent safeguarding the future of one of Mid Wales' most popular theatres, it has been revealed.

Theatr Hafren in Newtown will be given £812,000 from Powys County Council.

The money will be used to carry out much needed improvements, in an attempt to help it stay open.

It comes after bosses at the theatre said they would be forced to cancel public performances unless vital funding was found.

Last year the theatre only just managed to pass its annual insurance inspection bec-ause of outdated equipment.

Sara Clutton, administrator at Theatr Hafren, said she was extremely pleased with the funding and said it would go a long way to helping the theatre stay open.

She said: "It is a really positive amount. It will change the future of the theatre and allow us to stay open and increase the quality of what we do."

She said the 27-year-old theatre staged more than 150 performances a year and still has some of the original equipment."

In total we will need about £3 million to replace the outdated equipment at the theatre over the next few years but the £812,00 will go a long way," she said.

The funding, which has been allocated in the county council's capital programme for the next three years,will also includes a further £514,000 being spent in and around Newtown.