Mid Wales’ oldest theatre has announced it is to receive a substantial new investment of £60,000 from the Arts Council of Wales.

The Albert Hall in Llandrindod Wells has secured a grant from the ACW and the Welsh Government, which theatre chiefs have described as “game-changing”.

The funding will be used to make accessibility and sustainability improvements at the iconic old venue.

Thanks to a small team of hard-working volunteers, the Ithon Road venue was able to submit and be successful in receiving two grants, which along with some match-funding from their own pockets, totals £60,000.

The project will see the installation of a hearing support (loop) system, with audio description capability, enhancing the accessibility of the venue.

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A large proportion of the money will be spent on improving its sustainability too, by replacing older lighting technologies, with newer and energy efficient LED equivalents.

This is expected to result in considerable saving to the energy consumption and enable the community venue to be more sustainable.

“We are beyond excited to announce these improvements that are soon to be made at the Albert Hall,” said Jon Williams, chairman of the Albert Hall management committee.

“As a community venue, we are always looking at ways to ensure as many people as possible can use our building, and how we can improve the experience for them.

“This will be a game-changing project for our beautiful venue.”

Fellow committee member Ben Williams said: “It’s a super exciting day as we announce our latest grant success.

“These two grants have been a long time coming and we can’t wait to show off the improvements to our visitors.

“All of the works to be carried out will benefit not just the production companies, but will also enhance the experience for our audiences and ensures we are fit for the future.

“The Albert Hall will be one of just a very small number of theatres in Wales to have its own dedicated hearing loop and audio description system, with many having to hire in equipment.”

The ACW’s capital lottery funding provided 50 per cent towards the cost of the project, with the Welsh Government providing another considerable sum.

In addition to completing the applications, the Albert Hall team were asked by the ACW to carry out a accessibility audit. This is a new document the ACW is looking to roll out, and the Albert Hall was the first venue to go through the audit.

County Times: The 1,000 capacity theatre is the oldest in Mid Wales. The 1,000 capacity theatre is the oldest in Mid Wales.

“We’re delighted to have been able to be the guinea pigs for the ACW’s audit and are proud that the feedback we gave will go on to support other Welsh venues carrying out this audit,” added Ben.

Work is soon to get under way on the installation of the project, with volunteer training to take place soon after. It’s hoped that all the systems will be operational during the spring.

Since 1997, the ACW has distributed over £130 million of National Lottery funding towards capital projects across Wales.

The ACW’s ambition is to bring significant benefits to the arts in Wales through capital investment. This is done by ensuring arts organisations have fit for purpose buildings and equipment that enables them to fulfil their potential and increase their resilience.

The community facilities programme is a capital grant scheme operated by the Welsh Government. Grants can be used to improve community facilities which are useful to, and well used by people in the community.