Marina agrees feasibility contractor as redevelopment moves to next stage

The Marina Theatre Trust has signed an agreement with Foster Wilson Size as lead consultants to undertake a feasibility study and draw up plans for their future redevelopment as part of the Towns Fund.

 

Foster Wilson Size is a leading architectural practice with an international reputation for the design of cultural buildings and creative spaces. Their previous clients include theatres from across the country and at a range of sizes, including well-known establishments like Polka, Trafalgar Theatre and Hammersmith Apollo in London; as well as the Everyman in Cheltenham and Norwich Theatre Royal.

 

Ed Wilson, Foster Wilson size said, “We are delighted to have been appointed to work on improvements to the Marina Theatre in Lowestoft. The Marina is a wonderful historic theatre, and a great space to see live performance. We look forward to helping the team at the Marina upgrade the theatre, improve spaces for the audience and achieve their vision for the future.”

 

Accessibility will be at the heart of improvement plans with audience experience being key to the Marina’s goal.

 

Marina Chef Executive Emma Butler Smith said: “all of us that work at the Marina have spent many hours in conversation about what we’d like to achieve in this redevelopment and having such experienced architects taking our dreams and turning them into reality is a great boost for our staff. There’s still many stages of planning and consultation ahead before the builders arrive, but this is a really encouraging step in the right direction. We look forward to sharing prospective plans with our customers in the coming months.”

 

The projects is part of the £24.9M Towns Deal developed by East Suffolk Council & the Lowestoft Place Board and announced earlier this year. The Marina Theatre has been allocated £3.5M of this fund for planned redevelopments. As the building owner & principal stakeholder of the Marina Theatre, Lowestoft Town Council are looking forward to working with the Marina Theatre Trust in assessing and agreeing any plans for the future redevelopment of the Theatre.

 

Speaking about the project, Cllr Alan Green, Mayor of Lowestoft said, “I am delighted that this important step towards drawing up plans to redevelop the Marina Theatre has been taken.  This appointment will help to make sure that everyone in Lowestoft will have access to a 21st-century theatre experience into the foreseeable future. I look forward to seeing how the plans develop.”

 

With projects under the Towns Fund expected to be completed by March 2026, the Marina intends to submit plans for consultation and agreement in the next 12 months.