Leeds council approves extra £260,000 for works to fix leaking Leeds Playhouse roof

It follows £1m of urgent works approved in April this year, after council bosses claimed water ingress was a “regular occurrence” in several parts of the building.

A new report, however, indicates the roof works, expected to finish in March 2023, will extend to the whole building, and will cost an extra £268,000.

The document, published by the council under “key decisions”, promises that the money is sourced from the council-owned theatre’s own reserves and a charitable grant, and suggests any extra costs could be made in the form of a loan from the council.

The report stated: "The playhouse has secured funding totalling £268,631 for the cost of the works, sourced from its own reserves and grant funding secured from a charitable trust.

"It will pass this funding to the council in full to coincide with the council authorising the inclusion of the additional works in the contract for the roof replacement/repair works currently progressing on site.”

A report by council property chiefs back in April said that “patch” jobs on the roof had failed to solve the problem at the Quarry Hill venue.

After the council approved a £1.09m injection towards the works that same month, it added the Playhouse would repay the money through its own reserves and grants.

Opened by the acclaimed actress and onetime Bond girl Dame Diana Rigg in 1990, the theatre started life as the West Yorkshire Playhouse, before being rebranded to ‘Leeds’ in 2018.