Construction Works Begin for the Grade II Listed The Ice House Thanks to £2m From the National Lottery Heritage Fund
CONSTRUCTION WORKS BEGIN FOR THE GRADE II LISTED THE ICE HOUSE - TRANSFORMING THE HISTORIC BUILDING INTO A NATIONAL CENTRE FOR OUTDOOR ARTS AND CIRCUS THANKS TO £2M FROM THE NATIONAL LOTTERY HERITAGE FUND
The Ice House, a Grade II listed building on the historic Great Yarmouth South Quay, is set to undergo a spectacular transformation into a National Centre for Outdoor Arts and Circus, thanks to a monumental £2 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Further funding for the project includes £450,000 from Great Yarmouth Town Deal Funded by HM Government, £350,000 from the Architectural Heritage Fund, £50,000 from the Great Yarmouth Borough Council and £20,000 from Brineflow as well as match funding from Out There Arts who are managing the project.
All funding required is in place for The Ice House and building works have commenced to repair and transform the historic building.
Working with Jeremy Stacey Architects, specialist contractors will repurpose the 42,500 cubic metre space to provide performance and creation space with a first floor mezzanine leading out to a substantial balcony that overlooks the river.
The balcony references the original high level external platform that provided the only access for loading ice into the building.
The goal is to repair and retain the main building as a single, undivided, voluminous, and fully accessible multi-use space.
Other plans include levelling the floor, introducing a cafe bar area, and incorporating cutting-edge technical equipment such as audio, lighting, and projection systems to support an immersive heritage learning experience.
Building works are set to conclude in December 2024 with the grand opening planned for May 2025 alongside The Out There Festival.
To mark the start of the project, Out There Arts celebrated the launch of The Ice House development with a Grant Award Launch Party on the 2nd of February with over 150 people attending to raise a toast to the new project.
The evening featured spotlights on local artists and creators and offered a sneak peek into the plans slated for 2024 and the grand opening scheduled for 2025 alongside the Out There Festival.
“The Grant Launch Party was a great success with an affectionate and warm welcome from the community to The Ice House project.” said Emily Cserei, Executive Producer for Out There Arts.
“For the first time ever, live music and circus were performed at The Ice House, providing a glimpse into the building’s future made possible thanks to National Lottery players. We welcomed local artists to perform such as poet Jason Parr, musicians Polly Wright, JenJen, Elena and Jasmine; work by Matthew Harrison and a circus performance from Noag Ortiz.”
