Nantwich Players launch funding bid to develop “arts vision” for town

Nantwich Players are spearheading a drive to develop a new arts and culture “vision” for the town.

And the theatrical group believes a new venue with 140-160 seats could help cement the future for arts and performance in Nantwich.

But  they say they need to find £20,000 to help fund a professional “feasibility study” to see if their vision can be realised.

Officials from the Players, who currently work out of their Love Lane venue, presented their plans to Nantwich Town Council this week.

Players chairman Jeremy Acklam said: “We would like to see a proper long term vision for arts and culture in the town for the next 10 to 15 years.

“We want to bring groups together and collaborate in a much more focused way.

“The primary outcome of a study  will be to deliver an expanded arts service in Nantwich.”

He added that this could include looking at several locations around the town, such as the Snow Hill area, to see if there was scope to open new venues for arts and performance.

“We have excess demand at the moment, and we are pushing members to do more and extend the number of nights because of this,” Mr Acklam added.

“Yet we are not big enough at the moment to attract a commercial theatre company. We would like a larger theatre and are looking for something that could offer 140-160 seats.

“I know theree are plans to have a cinema in the town at some point, but all these things can’t be done in isolation. We need a study to see what else can be done.”

Councillors agreed to consider the proposals for the plan before deciding on any potential funding.

Nantwich Players are also in discussions with Cheshire East Council, Nantwich Flourish and Nantwich Local Area Partnership (LAP).