Capital Project and Conservation Plan - Blackpool Grand Theatre

Capital Project – Blackpool Grand Theatre is 125 years old and in need of constant attention to maintain the fabric of this unique and beautiful building. However, it is also important that we deliver a great customer experience with twenty-first-century standards of safety and comfort. Over the years, the theatre’s various owners have recognised the need to adapt the building to meet these changing requirements. That is how it stayed relevant and competitive and we continue to attract over 130,000 customers a year.

Blackpool Grand Theatre Trust, the charity that currently owns the building, has continued this tradition of continual improvement by undertaking a £1m capital project that was completed in 2015. This project delivered a newly refurbished foyer and Box Office, a wheelchair lift to the stalls, a rehearsal room, additional dressing rooms, a combined Stage Door and Reception office, and improved access around the building..

Since then we acquired the row of shops beneath our Dress Circle bar on Church Street. We have worked with a leading theatre architect to produce our Masterplan that will guide our development over the next decade. We have also commissioned a theatre historian to research and write a Conservation Plan that identifies the historically significant parts of the building that must be preserved and protected.

All this preparatory work has allowed us to confidently plan our next major project; a £9m capital project upgrade that will extend our foyer space, create a heritage display gallery, install a lift to the upper levels of the auditorium, replace our ageing services’ infrastructure, improve heating and cooling, refurbish our seating, and make us overall a cleaner, greener and more financially sustainable organisation while protecting the theatre for future generations.

If you would like to help us maintain and improve the Grand, then please donate here.