Yvonne Arnaud Calls for Support for its £4 Million Your Fund Surrey Bid

Published on: 2 Feb, 2023
Updated on: 5 Feb, 2023

The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre is calling for support for a bid for £4 million from Your Fund Surrey to transform access to the Grade II listed venue and to increase space for creative learning, outreach and community group use.

So far, the theatre has raised £1.16 million of the £6.7 million needed. It now asks people to support the bid for £4 million from the Your Fund Surrey pot and to raise £1.6 million through its campaign, Play Your Part.

It says its ambitions are limited by the much loved but constrained Grade II listed venue. They want to:

Increase step-free accessible seats from five to 25
Increase the amount of wheelchair spaces in the main auditorium
Install a lift to reach all floors in the building, making all meeting and workshop spaces accessible
Re-site the accessible toilets to bring them inside
Relocate the box office to make it more accessible
Refurbish the third floor toilets to become accessible
Upgrade insulation, replacing inefficient heating and cooling plants and upgrading service controls to minimise energy use
Repair and insulate the roof
Create a new multi-purpose workshop and function room on the third floor

The transformation project is forecasted to give a 30% increase in daytime users and a footfall increase from 128,000 to 141,000 per annum by 2026. It will also improve the theatre’s sustainability and energy efficiency.

A spokesperson added: “Please support the project by making a donation, show your support on the Your Fund Surrey website and get in touch with Fundraising Department on playyourpart @yvonne-arnaud.co.uk or call us on 01483 443960, to learn more about what you can do.”