New cafe set to be created inside Chesterfield's historic Winding Wheel building

A £426,000 project - which is expected to be approved by councillors at a meeting next Tuesday - includes the creation of a cafe bar in the foyer of the showpiece venue on Holywell Street.

The Grade II-listed Winding Wheel, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, would be closed in July and September 2018 while the work is carried out.

Chesterfield Borough Council owns and manages the Winding Wheel.

A borough council report states: "The venue needs to sustain the existing level of business but importantly needs to develop new business in the future."

The planned project would see:

► The creation of a larger foyer by removing the current administration and box office area - which is no longer needed - and opening up one of the walls into the existing Glasses shop - which is currently empty after the owner retired;

► A new cafe bar installed in the foyer area serviced by the existing kitchen in the auditorium. This would bring in much-needed revenue for the cash-strapped borough council and make an estimated profit of £119,000 over six-and-a-half-years;

► The refurbishment of all the customer toilets on the ground floor.

The borough council report adds: "It is essential that the front of house facilities at the Winding Wheel remain attractive to customers and hirers.

"In order to retain existing customers, attract new customers and to further increase income at the Winding Wheel, it is proposed to invest in some of the front of house areas at the Winding Wheel to update them and make the building more attractive."

The project will be funded using around £294,000 from the existing Theatres Restoration Fund reserve and £132,000 from the future proceeds of the Theatre Restoration Levy.

The Winding Wheel was previously the Odeon Cinema and Chesterfield Picture House.

In the last year it held 149 performances attracting nearly 40,000 ticketed attendances.

The building was also used for events or private hires for 280 days during the year.