DARLINGTON’S newly-revamped Hippodrome has received a grant of £200,000 to install heritage seating.

Marine decommissioning company Able UK awarded the grant to help transform the building as part of major £12.3 million overhaul, in sympathy with the theatre’s Edwardian origins.

The donation will fund the new heritage seats within the theatre’s auditorium, helping to complete the transformation of the building in a return to its original opulence.

The funding has been made available through Able’s Land Trust Community Fund which provides funding for projects ranging from repair of historical buildings to provision of leisure amenities and reclamation of disused land.

Able also specialises in demolition, land development and port operations.

Peter Stephenson, executive chairman, said: “As a business owned and managed in Teesside we are naturally committed to support the ongoing development of the area that has been our base for over 50 years. It is particularly pleasing to be able to be associated with such a prestigious project.”