Phoenix expansion boosted by £1 million support from Leicester City Council

Phoenix is delighted to receive the news that Leicester city council has committed £1 million in funding towards its Phoenix 2020 expansion project.

The expansion will see the charity add two further cinema screens, a new art gallery, an expanded café bar and a green roof terrace by 2020.

The council has also announced that it will grant a long-term lease to Phoenix for part of the adjacent car park to enable the extension to go ahead.

Phoenix has been provisionally awarded £4 million from Arts Council England towards the total project cost of £7 million. The organisation is currently working to secure the remaining funding required to enable the project to go ahead, and with architects Arcadis to finalise designs.

“This is a huge vote of confidence from the City Council,” said John Rance, CEO of Phoenix. “Together with the investment offered by Arts Council England, we are well on our way to securing the all important funding we need to make our Phoenix 2020 designs a reality.”

Deputy city mayor for culture, Cllr Piara Singh-Clair said: “Phoenix already generates around £2.6 million spending by visitors into Leicester’s economy, which creates jobs and business for local suppliers in the city and county.

“Since it moved into the Cultural Quarter nine years ago Phoenix has more than doubled its visitor numbers to around 220,000 a year. This expansion will help to attract more visitors to the area and to the city and will boost Leicester’s reputation as a centre for the arts and creative industries.”

The council’s funding will come from its Capital Programme. It is estimated that the increased income resulting from the expansion could allow the council to reduce its annual revenue grant of £215,000 to Phoenix by up to £85,000 by 2025/26.