A COMMUNITY arts centre in East Yorkshire has been awarded a cash boost of £30,000.

Pocklington Arts Centre has received the grant from Arts Council England to further develop the venue and what it offers.

It already displays a variety of film, live music, theatre, spoken word, comedy and art exhibitions, and has achieved 25,000 visitors a year since it opened in 2000.

James Duffy, assistant manager of the centre, said the funding would help build on an already good reputation, which has seen acts including Curtis Steigers, Kate Rusby, Rhod Gilbert and Opera North.

He said: “Given all the publicity about cuts in the press, we were concerned that it was the wrong time, the wrong climate, so we were really pleased to get exactly the amount we were after.

“The funds are part of a two-year project, which will see us modernise our box office, allowing us to sell tickets online as well as at the centre.

“That should be up and running in the next four weeks.”

Janet Farmer, pictured, manager, said: “This money is for all-round development of the Arts Centre and we are extremely grateful that Arts Council England has seen fit to invest in the arts in such a rural area.

“We have a good hard working team of staff and volunteers to make this venue work with an enthusiastic local and regional customer base and through this award we can improve our service to our customers”.

There will also be a new improved marketing strategy designed to reach even more potential arts centre users with e-bulletins, text and audience tracking, and a new, full colour brochure with a wider distribution base.

The grant also allows the centre to employ a new visual arts officer to curate the exhibitions, research potential exhibitors and develop an arts workshop programme, who will be announced within weeks.