A FUNDING shortfall for an ambitious revamp of Minehead's Regal Theatre has been bridged thanks to a £10,000 grant from town councillors.

The money is the final piece of a funding jigsaw that has helped make the £330,000 long awaited scheme a reality.

The improvements are giving the 1930s theatre a fully glazed entrance and much needed lift, street level box office, hearing loop and connecting corridors that should make the building totally accessible to all theatregoers, particularly those with limited mobility.

The project has been helped on its way by a £50,000 grant from West Somerset Council, using Government Seaside Strategy funding.

It also secured £20,000 from LARC - Local Action for Rural Communities - with the town council's money also unlocking a further £5,000 of LARC cash.

Ray Tew, chairman of MATA, which runs the Regal, said he was delighted that the funding target had been met.

"Although there is so much more that we need to do at the Regal that will require thousands and thousands of pounds, this is the final piece of funding for this project," he said.

"We are totally grateful to the town council and it is exactly the sort of scheme you would expect it to be investing in to further enhance facilities for the community."

Work to complete the improvements is almost at an end, with the box office expected to be up and running in its new location by next week and the connecting corridors in action by the end of April.

The project forced the closure of the theatre for three months but entertainment was back on the bill in time for Minehead's annual pantomime at the end of December.

Photo: Steve Guscott