Liverpool City Council is supporting the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s refurbishment plans.
The mayoral cabinet meeting today agreed to endorse plans for the Grade II* listed Liverpool Philharmonic Hall by agreeing a capital contribution of £2 million.
The city’s contribution will help Liverpool Philharmonic lever a further £9.5million of investment to complete the refurbishment of the City Council-owned building, which is the home of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and one of the UK’s premier arts and entertainment venues.
The City’s contribution is contingent on Liverpool Philharmonic successfully attracting this additional investment from a range of bodies including Arts Council England (ACE), and other, private funding. Should these applications be successful, Liverpool City Council will modernise and refresh the current building lease to Liverpool Philharmonic.
Earlier this year, Liverpool Philharmonic secured seed funding of £634,000 from ACE to appoint architects Caruso St. John to lead a design team in the first steps towards a major refurbishment of the 1939 venue. Liverpool Philharmonic has set an ambition for the refurbishment project of up to £11.5 million.
The organisation is now building towards a further major application to ACE as well as seeking additional support from other sources in 2012 and 2013, with plans to complete all of the works to Liverpool Philharmonic Hall by 2015, the 175th anniversary year of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.
Mayor Joe Anderson said: “Liverpool Philharmonic Hall is a jewel in the city’s cultural crown but is in need of significant refurbishment to bring it up to the standards that today’s audiences expect and deserve. The city council is delighted to be able to support Liverpool Philharmonic in its ambition to bring additional investment into the city and in return we will restructure the lease on the building. The overall aim is to secure the future of one of the city’s flagship cultural institutions and enable it to continue to operate from a much-loved venue.”
Michael Eakin, Chief Executive of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic said; “In challenging economic times, we are grateful for the City’s support of our capital development ambitions for an iconic venue. It will help us lever very substantial match investment in to the City to maintain part of its historic built environment and enable Liverpool Philharmonic to continue to build on our successes of recent years, during which our artistic reputation has never been higher.”
Vasily Petrenko, Chief Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra said; “Liverpool City Council’s support means that we can make a major step forward in our ambition to make our home fit for the 21st century for our musicians, visiting artists, audiences and supporters.”
