Muckle’s top tier real estate team secures new lease on theatre for performing arts group
We're delighted to have secured a new lease on Gosforth Civic Theatre for local performing arts charity, Liberdade.
Partner Richard Nixon, from our top-ranked real estate team, worked to extend an existing lease to 50 years, allowing the charity for adults with learning difficulties and autism to secure funding for building improvements.
Rob Huggins is the CEO of Liberdade and set up the charity in 2003. He moved the organisation to Gosforth Civic Theatre in 2016 to create a truly inclusive space for performance, music, and events, at the heart of the community.
Rob said: “Gosforth Civic Theatre was created by our learning-disabled company members to provide a cultural building that brings everyone together. Our company members are the reason why this community has a theatre, and we hope that realisation helps to deliver our mission of ‘raising everyone’s expectations about what people with learning disabilities can achieve’.
“Improving the building and facilities at the theatre will allow us to achieve that mission while giving the local community an arts venue and community to be proud of.
“The new, longer lease has allowed us to secure funding from a wider range of sources to make this project a reality. It was an absolute pleasure to work with Richard and the Muckle team, and we thank them for all their hard work.”
Richard said: “It was a pleasure to work with Rob and the team to extend the lease on this iconic local building and to help secure the funding for its future.
“Now the charity has secured funding they can improve their base both for themselves and for the wider community to enjoy for many years to come.”
The work on the building on Regent Farm Road is set to take place in two stages. The first phase, which has already started, sees the auditorium roof replaced, insulation and sound-proofing installed, and the existing bar area expanded with plenty of space for training.
Phase two will see an extension added to the side of the existing building, housing a brand new community space, and offices for staff, finished off with exterior landscaping.
Although the theatre has already closed and work is underway, normal activities are rescheduled locally and the building is set to reopen to the public in summer 2023.
For more information about Liberdade and Gosforth Civic Theatre, visit its website at liberdade.co.uk and gosforthcivictheatre.co.uk.
For advice with similar issues, please contact our real estate team or get in touch directly with Richard Nixon using 0191 211 7924 or [email protected].