Rishi Sunak is supporting an ambitious plan to open a community arts venue in Stokesley.
The Richmond and Northallerton MP is backing plans to convert the former Barclays Bank premises in the town’s High Street.
Plans for the handsome Georgian building and the land to the rear include the creation of a 200-seater performance venue suitable for theatre productions and film screenings, a gallery, rehearsal studio, workshop and meeting room space and a small café.
The plan is the brainchild of Dan Brookes, who runs the Stokesley-based Crash Bang Wallop youth theatre group, which currently stages its productions in Northallerton or Yarm.
Mr Sunak saw detailed plans for the centre during a visit to 42 High Street, Stokesley, which ceased being a Barclays bank branch in 2018.
Mr Brookes explained to him how the plan has already received support from the local community and organisations.
That support, from the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the Architectural Heritage Foundation, helped pay for a detailed £30,000 feasibility study.
The next steps are to get planning permission for the project and secure the £400,000 to purchase the building.
Mr Brookes said: “We are grateful for Mr Sunak’s interest in and support for what we are trying to achieve. Stokesley is a vibrant town but it has no provision of this sort. We think it is something the community would wish to support and be involved with and would have great spin-off benefits for the economy of the High Street.”
Mr Brookes, who formerly ran the Forum in Northallerton and has managed the Princess Alexandra Auditorium at Yarm School since it opened nine years ago, added that once outline permission had been granted for the project he would wish to involve the local community in deciding just how some of the space in the building was used.
“I hope this would be a community hub in the heart of the town and would want local people to be involved in deciding how it should work beyond the core artistic cultural functions.”
The cost of converting the building into an arts venue is estimated to be £3m. The project group will be making applications to a variety of organisations and charities – like the Arts Council and Heritage Lottery Fund – and seeking support from companies and individuals.
Mr Sunak, who met the architects, project trustees and young members of the Crash Bang Wallop theatre group during his tour of the building, said: “This is a really exciting project for Stokesley and particularly for its young people. The project plan is ambitious but well thought through. I’ll be supporting the grant applications that will be necessary to fund the purchase and refurbishment/building costs.”
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