A THEATRE company for adults with learning disabilities which lost funding for a new home last year has secured £300,000 to make the dream a reality.
Impact Theatre’s hopes of making the Stirling Road Day Centre in South Acton its permanent base were squashed last summer when Ealing Council declined to offer the group a 15-year lease for the premises.
Now the authority has offered the group a 40-year lease on The Old Library resource centre in Horsenden Lane South, Perivale.
Impact development officer Rustom Davar said: “We are very grateful to the council for working with us and offering us a 40-year lease on a peppercorn rent.
“We will keep our many supporters in the local community updated as this refurbishment project progresses and look forward to the launch event for our new home, which we hope will be ready for us to move into next spring.”
A £150,000 capital grant and a £172,293 unsecured loan from the Department of Health’s Social Enterprise Investment Fund will transform the disused building into a fully accessible arts centre and studio for its members, all of whom have severe learning difficulties.
Building work is expected to start in January, and the group expects to to relocate by the end of spring.
The good news came as a double prize when it was announced at the company’s biannual ‘Oscars’ ceremony earlier this month.
Members were presented with awards for their hard work over the last two years by celebrity auctioneer Tom Keane of BBC TV’s Cash in the Attic, and The Office star Patrick Baladi, with a surprise visit by comedian and TV presenter Michael Barry-more.
Categories included best costume design, best comedy performance, best dancer and actor, and a new accolade for teamwork and enterprise.
For more information or to join Impact, visit www.impactondisabilityarts.com.
