Britten Pears Arts Announces £13.4 Million Investment Program

The three-year capital investment will increase the organization’s activities and community outreach efforts

Founded in the 1940s by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, the Britten Pears Arts organization in Suffolk, England, takes after the founders’ wish that the arts and music be useful and available to all. 

The organization’s three-year £13.4 million capital program will ensure that legacy and see that its buildings and sites have improved accessibility and are financially and environmentally sustainable.

Additionally, Britten Pears Arts received an award of £750,000, from the Arts Council England from its newly-announced government funded Capital Investment Program, of which it will also benefit from a share of £24.2 million.

The funds will go towards building works, the purchase of equipment and other assets to improve access, and the use of technological opportunities and innovations to reduce environmental impact. 

Highlights of the program include the modernization of the Britten Pears Building (first converted in 1979) to increase community use; a series of upgrades to Snape Maltings Concert Hall, which will be the first significant works since 1999; plus the installation of roof insulation, solar panels, and connection to a renewable heating system to help reduce carbon emissions. 

Additionally, Britten Pears Arts will work with the Alde and Ore Estuary Trust (AOET) and the East Suffolk Water Management Board (ESWMB), to raise the Snape Maltings flood defenses to protect the site; there will also be a new visitor exhibition at the Red House and a Discovery Centre, plus improvements to existing artist accommodation at Snape Maltings and in Aldeburgh. 

The renovations and construction will be headed by De Matos Ryan, an award-winning architectural practice, which has been appointed the program’s Lead Architect. De Matos Ryan is known for creating socially responsive buildings, often within historically or culturally sensitive settings. 

Most of the works are planned to take place in 2025 and 2026. Although some events will be re-arranged, the majority of Britten Pears Arts’ programming will go ahead as planned, as will its summer performance program and the Aldeburgh Festival.

Also appointed through a public procurement process, Britten Pears Arts’ other co-design teams include Gardiner & Theobald, Bristow Consulting, Charcoal Blue, Ingleton Wood, and Bidwells.

The individuals, trusts, and foundations that provided initial funding for the organization included the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Foyle Foundation, 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust, and the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership.

“We are delighted to have been appointed to help support Britten Pears Arts as they prepare for their next chapter and continue to create a lasting legacy of music that everyone can enjoy and experience at Snape Maltings,” said De Matos Ryan’s director Angus Morrogh Ryan in the press release.

“We look forward to breathing new life into the wide range of their distinctive buildings and remarkable landscape,” Ryan continued. “We seek to help broaden their creative opportunities, building on the already remarkable artistic experience whilst also improving accessibility and sustainability for future generations. Our driving force is delivering resilient, welcoming and joyful cultural destinations that are loved locally and recognised internationally. As Britten once said, we want our work ‘to be of use to people, to please them, to enhance their lives.’”

“This program will create transformational benefits for Britten Pears Arts, our audiences, communities and musicians,” added Britten Pears Arts’ CEO Roger Wright. “The sensitive improvements to the buildings will resolve access and sustainability challenges which mean everyone will be able to enjoy the activities we present in them. We offer huge thanks to Arts Council England and all the other funders for their vital support. Whilst there remains a big funding challenge which we have to overcome, I am confident that we will meet it, and am proud of what we have achieved so far, as we continue to respect our heritage and protect our future.”

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