Strong progress is being made to ensure an ambitious arts facility in Dorchester becomes a reality.

The Dorchester Maltings at Brewery Square is set to include a 450-seat theatre and arts centre and bring new jobs and an annual £4.6m boost to the local economy.

At the recent full council of the West Dorset District Council Cllr Robert Freeman was selected to join the Malting Arts board.

The Maltings Arts approached the council asking for a district councillor to act as an observer at their meetings.

All members of the council were invited to apply to be the council's representative.

Applications were received from Cllr Freeman as well as Cllr Susie Hosford. A vote at the full council meeting saw Cllr Freeman selected.

There will be approximately six meetings a year, last for about two hours, at Brewery Square in Dorchester.

A report before full council read: "In March of 2017 the council awarded the organisation £1million of Section 106 money derived from the Poundbury development. The Maltings Arts Trust aims to deliver and maintain a theatre and arts centre for the benefit of the public at the Maltings building in Brewery Square if the remaining funding for the project can be secured.

"The provision of an arts centre and theatre could link closely to the work of the economy leisure and tourism division at the

council plus other services."

Chairman of The Maltings Arts, Louise Sheaves, said: "We are delighted to welcome Cllr Freeman as the WDDC representative to the Maltings Arts board.

"He joins us at an exciting time. People should not mistake our relative silence for a lack of activity.

"We continue to make good progress with raising the funds needed to make the Maltings a reality and are particularly grateful for the ongoing support of the district and town councils.

"We hope to be able to announce significant progress towards our goals in the coming months."