Published: Thursday 14th March 2024 | 2.31pm
Rugeley Rose Theatre has received funding from Cannock Chase Council through Rugeley Town Council’s allocation of UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) from the Thriving Communities and Centre Project, to help to improve their offer and attract more footfall.
The funding has been used to purchase a coffee machine, cocktail machine and pizza oven to improve the facilities at the Rugeley Rose Theatre.
Their aim is for the theatre to become more of a ‘drop in’ venue with well-priced food and drink on offer for the local community. The theatre like many others operate at a loss and they hope with the additional food and beverage on offer, that will be competively priced, will help the theatre to generate more income, which in turn will enable them to deliver more low-cost events, encourage the use of the venue by more members of the public and reinvest in the theatre.
The UKSPF Thriving Communities and Centre Project funding is being allocated to Town and Parish Councils across the District. The total allocation for the Thriving Communities and Spaces project funding is £380k over 3 years which will be split equally between the 7 areas of Hednesford, Rugeley, Cannock, Norton Canes, Heath Hayes, Chadsmoor and Bridgtown. All the funding must be spent by 31 March 2025.
Councillor Josh Newbury, Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Leader for Regeneration and High Streets said “As a Council we are always keen to do everything we can to support our local high streets, the centres of our communities. We identified 7 in the District that are vulnerable due to having little support. With this project, the aim is to boost both community and business capacity. This builds on the success of the post-pandemic Welcome Back Fund but is tailored to meet the current and future needs of our towns and villages.
“The Rugeley Rose Theatre is a fantastic venue and it is great to see that this funding will benefit the local community with the bonus that any profits will be re-invested back into the theatre.”