In rural communities, such as Settle there are difficulties in affecting local people’s ability to access the arts; including a lack of appropriate transport, venues and skills. These issues, combined with pressures on Local Authorities & arts agencies make capital funding for projects increasingly difficult. In building a new theatre for our use it became clear that there was an opportunity to expand its use to become an asset to the wider community, as a venue & hub for skills development.

In an innovative solution we are seeking to work with the wider community to create a community arts space. With our initial community outreach funded in part by LEADER we are now looking to expand the venue. We will seek support from our alumni and friends to: Expand the display space by building a new glass foyer; Expand the performance facilities by investing in technical equipment for our Catteral Pavilion; Develop the dressing rooms to encourage high quality touring companies to the RWT.