£100m Manchester opera house put on hold

Proposals for a £100m outpost of the Royal Opera House in Manchester have been put on hold following cuts in art funding.

The decision announced by Arts Council England on Tuesday for a 6.9% across-the-board cash cut for the majority of arts organisations in 2011/2012 has forced the Royal Opera House to admit that plans for the opera house in Manchester have been put on hold, says a report in the Independent.

The original plan had been for a complete renovation of the 11-year-old Palace Theatre in Manchester city centre so it could become a venue for staging opera and ballet productions.

The Royal Opera House North is amongst a number of arts projects that will be affected by the Arts Council England plans for implementing a 29.6% cut to its budget announced as part of the government’s spending review.