Willmott Dixon has won a £13 million contract to redevelop the Darlington Civic Theatre.

The project will see the Grade II-listed venue transformed to include larger seating capacity, improved backstage facilities and a new restaurant area as well as a grand entrance. The nearby former fire station will also be redeveloped into a children's theatre as part of a £2.9m project led by Theatre Hullaballoo.

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The company was appointed to the project by Darlington Borough Council under Scape's Major Works framework.

The Theatre will reopen as 'Darlington Hippodrome' once the project is completed in Autumn 2017.

Anthony Dillon, managing director of Willmott Dixon in the North, said: "We're delighted to be restoring Darlington Civic Theatre; our team can again make another positive contribution to the region including using local businesses where possible."

Willmott Dixon is undertaking a number of project in the area, including a 4,000 sq m extension to Darlington Town Hall, a new building for the DfE and refurbishing/creating new operating theatres for the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.

(LM/CD)