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The Council has produced a Vision that sets out the details for remodelling Ferneham Hall into a new arts and entertainment facility.
The updated venue will feature two auditoria, community rooms, a flexible studio space and would operate as a busy community arts and entertainment centre which includes daytime and evening activity, seven days a week.
We asked for feedback on the vision.
We consulted with the public, regular hirers, industry experts and potential operators. Whilst most of the vision was widely supported, the proposal to reduce the size of the main auditorium and the provision of a dedicated ‘Dance Studio’ both received a mixed response.
A large proportion of the public and a number of industry experts and potential operators felt that having 800 seats in the main auditorium would attract both more shows and higher quality productions.
Many also felt that having a Flexible Studio Space would encourage a greater variety of uses and therefore more bookings than a dedicated Dance Studio.
Following analysis of the feedback we have made some changes to parts of the vision:
•The main auditorium is to increase to around 800 seats instead of reducing it to between 400-500 seats as originally proposed.
•The secondary performance space will be more flexible to reflect its multi-use nature.
•The proposed dedicated Dance Studio will now be a Flexible Studio Space to encourage a greater range of uses.