Worcester to get new arts centre

Worcester City Council has signed up local contractor, Speller Metcalfe to construct a new arts and entertainment centre.

The project will see the historic Scala building – first opened as a cinema in 1922 and more recently used as an amusement arcade – reconfigured into a new facility.

The work will create new spaces for live performance, film, workshops, course and classes, and digital experiences.

Leader of the City Council, Councillor Lynn Denham, said: “Creating a new arts and entertainment centre is an ambitious undertaking, so it is a major milestone for us to appoint a contractor.”

The renovation of the Scala is being made possible by a share of the £17.9 million grant that Worcester City Council secured from the previous Government’s Future High Street Fund.

The new centre is expected to open in 2026.