Britten Pears Arts has been awarded a £1.9 million Creative Foundations Fund grant by Arts Council England to support the restoration of Snape Maltings Concert Hall, with work set to begin in January 2027.

The grant forms part of the second phase of the organization’s wider £13.86 million Capital Program. The first phase, focused on the neighboring Britten Pears Building, is nearing completion and is set to open in time for the Aldeburgh Festival this June.

The Concert Hall, which has remained largely unchanged for over 25 years will undergo a series of essential repairs and upgrades, including roof restoration with new thermal insulation, refurbishment of auditorium seating and handrails, new LED lighting, lift upgrades, a new platform lift, a finishing kitchen to expand dining capacity, modernized toilet facilities including a new Changing Places facility, retractable acoustic drapes for amplified and spoken word events, and brickwork repairs throughout the building.

“We are delighted to be awarded this grant from the Creative Foundations Fund and are enormously grateful to Arts Council England for this endorsement of our project. Our founders Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears believed in the power of the arts to connect and be useful to communities and this work will help more communities enjoy this very special place, from artists and performers through to visitors and audience members,” Chief Executive Andrew Comben said, per an official press release.

Future phases of the program include 10 new bedrooms at Snape Maltings for visiting musicians and arts practitioners, a new visitor exhibition at The Red House, and a Discovery Centre at Snape Maltings. A public seat naming appeal is set to launch in May 2026.

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