AMBITIOUS plans to raise £2.5 million for a new studio theatre in Worcester have been unveiled.

Proposals to rebuild the Swan Theatre studio were revealed as civic dignitaries and supporters of the arts were celebrating the refurbishment of the Swan’s main house theatre at a special event on Monday night.

Worcester Live will need at least £2m to knock down the existing studio, which sits next door to the main Swan Theatre, and replace it with a modern three-storey building.

Chief executive of Worcester Live Chris Jaeger admitted that it would be hard to raise the cash – especially in a country still recovering from recession, but said the people of Worcester deserved a better facility.

He said: “We’ve now got this fantastic theatre that the whole of Worcester can be proud of sitting next to a dilapidated old hut.

“We want to encourage young people to come and do creative things and to do that properly we need a better facility. I will be talking to partners and trying to raise money through the Arts Council.

“I believe that the project is feasible, although it will probably take at least three years before it comes to the fore.”

About 250 youngsters use the studio every week. There are currently nine youth groups using the space, with two more on a waiting list.

It is also considered home by the Swan Theatre Amateur Company, which stages plays in the 50-seat studio at least twice a year, and various dance troupes.

“We have professional groups who want to use the studio to rehearse for major tours that we can’t at the moment accommodate,” said Mr Jaeger. “It’s an inadequate building.”

The Swan’s £800,000 makeover, was completed earlier this month. It included installation of an environmentally-friendly air handling unit, a new roof, modern cladding and an extension of the balcony.

While there are no designs or architectural plans for the Studio regeneration as yet, it is hoped that the new-and-improved building would consist of a larger studio with 110 seats and two more working studio spaces.

The proposal, which is being dubbed Phase 2 of the Swan refurbishment, will go before Worcester City Council’s planning department in due course.

l It has also been revealed that the new patron of Worcester’s Swan Theatre is Lord Richard Faulkner.

Labour peer Lord Faulkner was appointed to the House of Lords in 1999.

He was described by Mr Jaeger as “an ardent supporter of Worcester Live events” and travelled to Worcester on Monday to be part of the Swan Theatre reopening and fund-raising auction event.