Published: Monday, 16th January 2023
The Princess Theatre in Hunstanton has gone in to the New Year with a new roof, following the investment of nearly £200,000 from the borough council to improve the building.
Brian Hallard, Proprietor of the Princess Theatre:
It was agreed at Cabinet towards the end of 2021 that the building, which is owned by the borough council, needed work including a new roof as the current one was deteriorating and had been suffering from tile failure and periodic leaks.
Cllr Stuart Dark MBE, Leader of the Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk, said:
“I am really pleased that this work is now complete. Concerns had been raised about the roof by Brian and the great team that run the Princess Theatre. We worked around their schedule of planned performances to install the new roof, which I believe is already benefitting the venue. The level of insulation not only makes the theatre far warmer it reduces loss of heat to the outside air, meaning it is both cheaper to heat and better for the environment.
“I am glad that we have been able to support their plans for a brighter future and improve a much loved venue that is a year-round centre-piece of Hunstanton life for residents and visitors alike.”
Brian Hallard, Proprietor of the Princess Theatre added:
“We raised our concerns about the state of the theatre’s roof and the adverse impact it was having on our patrons and incoming shows, as their safety and comfort has always been our main priority.
"The day they put the roof on the theatre it was noticeably warmer. My heating is hardly on. It’s going to make such a difference.
“On behalf of the Princess Theatre, I would like to thank Cllr Stuart Dark and his council, for pushing the work on the roof through. We are a little theatre with big shows and a new roof, please come and enjoy.”
The roof is now an insulated metal roofing system – replacing the former tiled roof which did have traces of asbestos in it.
Being a sheet roofing system, there is no risk of losing the odd tile as had perhaps happened in the past due to the height and exposure of the roof. The roof should therefore require less maintenance.
The existing gutters have also been replaced with seamless aluminium gutters which should also be relatively maintenance free.