‘OUTSTANDING’ plans to make a creative cultural space and an open air amphitheatre on Portland have been unveiled in a bid to gain support from Portland Town Council for the project.
Architect Richard Hyams, from London, and Hannah Sofaer, creative director for Portland Sculpture and Quarry Trust, presented the latest developments for the Open Air Amphitheatre and Memory Stone Project at a Portland Town Council meeting of the Marine, Environment & Tourism Partnership on August 31.
Mr Hyams said the idea of the interpretive theatre space is for it to be part of the ‘natural beauty of the coast’ and build on the landscape.
The unique attraction and performance space will cut into the face of Portland stone on the east coast of the island, near to Rufus Castle and Wakeham, to build the theatre and it’s hoped it will bring an influx of performers to the area and more people visiting the island. The overall look and feel of the amphitheatre will be similar to the popular Minack Theatre in Cornwall.
Mr Hyams said: “We have been working with geologists and experts to understand the biodiversity of the site and to leave the place better than we found it.”
Hannah Sofaer added the site currently has cement and rubbish dumped on it.
At present, no planning application has been submitted.
Mr Hyams said if approved, workers will build ‘a seating area and stage and expose the original rock face for an amphitheatre’.
The 300 to 400 seated amphitheatre project will cost approximately £3million to £5million complete.
He added: “It will be a stunning space and unique space. We want to work with light, time and sound.”
Hannah Sofaer added: “It will regenerate the landscape.”
She said: “The quarry park is really important to us to work collaboratively. It’s going to be used educationally by the school and it’s a shared platform to interpret the landscape.”
Angela Williams, head of sixth form at IPACA attended the meeting to give her support on the project too. She said she hoped the space will help inspire young people on the island.
The presentation was met with general support at the meeting. Councillor David Thurston questioned whether the theatre would be similar to the Minack Theatre in Cornwall which is hugely successful.
The theatre has 80,000 people a year visit to watch open air performances and 150,000 visit to walk the grounds.
But Cllr Thurston voiced concerns about the attraction making the island too commercialised.
Cllr Thurston said: “Looking at it, it sounds like an outstanding idea. But I can envisage it would be extremely popular and therefore extremely commercial.”
Other concerns raised at the meeting were the island infrastructure not being able to cope with the amount of people visiting and if the project would get the funding it needed to happen.
Cllr Thurston added: “I have been a councillor a long time and there’s been a lot of projects that get people very excited and then they never happen because there wasn’t any money.”
But Mr Hyams argued the amphitheatre has huge potential to attract big companies housed in Portland stone buildings to give something back to the island and fund the project. The rest of the funds it is hoped will come from arts grants.
Mr Hyams said: “This is a really exciting opportunity.”
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