THE final piece of a £250,000 funding puzzle to revamp Minehead's Regal Theatre has finally fallen in to place in a landmark week for members of Minehead Amateur Theatrical Association (MATA).

Work could now get underway in a matter of weeks on an ambitious refurbishment of the popular venue which has been 15 years in the making.

There was applause and cheers of jubilation when West Somerset Council officially agreed to give £50,000 to help bridge a £75,000 shortfall in the £253,942 scheme at its meeting on Wednesday.

The council had previously ring-fenced the grant subject to the receipt of a business plan from MATA, which runs the Regal.

And with all the loose ends finally tied-up, the grant was officially awarded, marking the end of 15 years of tireless fundraising by MATA members - not to mention several disappointments when the scheme faced both uncertainty and unforeseen delays.

With all that now firmly behind it, MATA can now look forward to a more stable future.

The association has already secured revised planning permission for a slightly scaled-down version of the long-awaited project, although a few final tweaks are still needed.

Ray Tew, chairman of MATA, told councillors the contract for the work had already gone out to tender and two companies had been shortlisted.

References were currently being sought and the contract was likely to be awarded next week.

From there, a construction timescale would be agreed, although he was hopefully all the work would be completed in just 14 weeks.

"This grant is the key to it all," he said. "It will allow this to finally get off the ground after 15 years of hard work.

"On behalf of the 200 plus volunteers, the 1,300 film society members and the 25,000 who can climb the stairs, I ask for your support."

The scheme - nicknamed the Lift Off Project - will see a street-level box office, more toilets, better electricity and plumbing systems and an all-important lift to enable theatregoers with limited mobility access to all areas of the theatre.

The plans, which were revised earlier this year, include a fully glazed entrance and lift shaft but no longer feature a large curved glass facade.

MATA has raised more than £200,000 towards the cost of the ambitious scheme and the district council's £50,000 means work can finally start.

Councillors were told MATA hoped to cover the remaining £25,000 shortfall by undertaking some of the work themselves and using some of the theatre's existing working capital.

But councillors were equally adamant the door should not be closed on the theatre association if more money was needed to ensure the project's success.

They were hopeful more money could be found from "planning gain" money paid by building firms to off-set the impact of their developments in Minehead.

They also stressed that the £50,000 grant was not from the council's own coffers but from a £200,000 Government funding pot given to the authority to spend specifically on schemes in Minehead.

The council received the Seaside Strategy Funding in 2009 in recognition of the "important role that towns such as Minehead play in the coastal economy", linked to the fact that Minehead was one of the 25 most deprived coastal towns in England.

Minehead district councillor Mandy Chilcott was among members who congratulated Mr Tew on the near culmination of the long-awaited project.

"I applaud the Regal," she said. "It is one of the few organisations we have locally that are cross-sectoral - they deal with children right through to the elderly.

"It is fantastic that we will be able to help deliver a local project like this using Seaside Strategy Funding.

"This is just the sort of thing we should be doing."

The Regal was built in 1934 as a 1,600 seat theatre and cinema with a single-storey ballroom to one side, and the Lift Off scheme will modernise the access to the theatre and create what MATA hopes will be a "dramatic presence" on the street.

Planning permission for a new-look foyer was first granted in 2005 and renewed in 2010.

The plans approved earlier this year increase the footprint of the building by ten square metres, some four square metres less than originally proposed.

Mr Tew said the revamp would maximise the available space at ground-floor level and create an inviting box-office and foyer space, especially as it no longer had its original main entrance.

"Since the loss of the former entrance, the Regal has suffered as a venue by not having an obvious and focal entrance point from which forthcoming events may be advertised/promoted and also box office for ticket sales and bookings," he said.

"There is now also the requirement that access to the theatre must comply with access for the less able under the Disability Discrimination Act."

The design of the new frontage and lift shaft has been drawn-up by local architect Louise Crossman.

She said the scheme would give The Regal an "emblematic presence on the street", while an extension to the existing building would be "modestly proportioned" and replace the existing lobby area.

"The design has a clear, confident presence whilst acknowledging the complexity of the neighbouring signage and competing street frontage.

"The main access and pedestrian access route of the existing theatre would be maintained and the ticket booth offset to the south side for access by visitors, as well as giving the opportunity to monitor and welcome visitors to and from the theatre.

"Access to the lift is made from a landing waiting bay, which is to one side of the principal theatre access route," Mrs Crossman said.

She added: "It is considered that the entrance and lift would provide a street presence to the Regal that would in itself enhance the appearance of the building and the Conservation Area and benefit the objective of improved access and increased publicity."