THE Green Light has been given for a major £2 million transformation project at Ludlow Assembly Rooms.

Ludlow Assembly Rooms is Celebrating the start of its major transformation project as the final piece of the jigsaw has been put into place.

Shropshire Council and the Ludlow and District Community Association – the community-based charity which runs South Shropshire’s arts and community centre have signed a lease for the whole building.

This will allow the £2million project to successfully get underway.

The project will see the Assembly Rooms grow and take over the ground floor of the iconic 19th Century building.

It will welcome audiences and visitors alike from its new entrance on Castle Square, at the heart of the town.

A new lift and other features will make the building more accessible to all. The ground floor will house a new Visitor Information and Box Office facility as well as a café/restaurant. The project will completely overhaul the heating, air conditioning and other services to increase the building’s environmental sustainability and the comfort for its audiences.

The project is being funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Arts Council England with match funding from the Assembly Rooms and Shropshire Council.

“‘It’s taken a huge amount of very hard work over many years by the staff and board at the Assembly Rooms to secure the funding for this really exciting project,” said Gareth Williams, chair of the Ludlow and District Community Association.

Detailed plans will be revealed at the end of May.