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Bolton Octagon

Details

Client

Bolton Octagon

Location

Bolton, Greater Manchester

Sector

Drees & Sommer is delighted to have provided quantity surveying services for the £10 million redevelopment of the Octagon Theatre in Bolton, which opened in 1967. The plans for redevelopment focused on modernising and enlarging the building to improve accessibility and accommodation for the theatre’s on and off-stage projects.

The redevelopment has received £4m in Arts Council funding, and further funding pledges from Bolton Council. A fundraising campaign led by the Octagon Theatre, which is a registered charity, is ongoing to secure the total £10 million needed.

The plans for redevelopment, first announced in January 2015, focus on modernising and enlarging the building to improve accessibility and accommodation for the theatre’s on and off-stage theatre projects.

With anticipated project costs of approximately £10m, funding pledges were secured from Arts Council England (distributing funds from the National Lottery good causes) and Bolton Council. A fundraising campaign led by the Octagon Theatre, which is a registered charity, secured the total amount.

The timescale for the projects meant that the Octagon building closed from mid-2018 with plans to re-open in late 2019. Due to COVID restrictions, the grand-opening took place in early 2021.

During this time, the theatre acted as a vaccine observation centre, and remained active as an organisation, will take the opportunity to engage with new and existing audiences by operating in different spaces in and around Bolton.

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