Award-winning author Philip Pullman has given an Oxford theatre a £100,000 cash injection which means a £6.3m revamp can start next year.
Mr Pullman, author of the His Dark Materials trilogy, is patron of the Pegasus Theatre, in Magdalen Road, and his support was the biggest private donation to the fundraising campaign.
Plans to demolish the buildings surrounding the theatre have been in the pipeline for more than 10 years and work had originally been planned to start in April 2008.
But by January only £4.7m had been raised and it was decided to put the plans on hold for a year.
Now, the total stands at just under £5.5m, allowing organisers to start contracting out demolition work for the new year.
Since January, as well as Mr Pullman and his wife Jude’s donation, the Garfield Weston Foundation has contributed £100,000 to the campaign and major sponsor Arts Council England, which had already pledged £3m, added another £500,000 to its funding.
A further £100,000 was raised with help from the community, parents’ fundraising events, and small grants from trusts.
Oxford City Council has supported the scheme to the tune of £271,000 and Oxfordshire County Council has pledged £1.2m.
About 1,500 young people get involved with workshops and theatre sessions at Pegasus theatre each year, many through Oxford Youth Theatre.
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