We aim to use a mixture of refurbishment and new building to retain what is special about the Albany, whilst improving performance, production, creative enterprise and community spaces; many of which are deteriorating and have not had any real work done to them since the building opened in 1981.
The new building will be more sustainable, accessible, and welcoming for visitors. The development will also include housing on site which will fund a considerable proportion of the Albany’s building costs.
We have been working with RIBA award-winning architects, Witherford Watson Mann, as well as Stories, a socially responsible property development company and a B Corp, to develop plans for the project.
We will undertake full consultation with our local communities, residents, and stakeholders in due time, so that as many people as possible have the chance to feed into what they would like to see from their new local arts centre building. We are still at an early stage, and timelines are subject to change, however currently we expect consultation to begin towards the end of 2025, with building work starting in 2028 at the earliest.