Sutton Coldfield Town Hall is among 52 companies across the region to be awarded a share of the £1.9m Pivot and Prosper grant scheme in response to the economic impact of Covid-19.
The Pivot and Prosper Grant Fund was launched by the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) as part of the first phase of the Step Forward campaign – a series of schemes set up to help support businesses in key sectors.
Businesses have each been awarded up to £40,000 match funding.
Sutton Coldfield Town Hall received £30,000 towards a project to hold wedding ceremonies – with the charity venue deciding to diversify its offering while live entertainment is on hold.
Although weddings had been held at the Edwardian venue since it was built in 1905, it had become outdated for 21st century weddings.
So, despite being licensed to hold weddings, the Town Hall gave priority at weekends to theatre shows.
However, the upheaval to the live entertainment programme due to Covid-19 has offered an opportunity for couples to tie the knot.
The grant has allowed the venue to implement key features such as the ability to live stream weddings to guests at home (in light of Covid restrictions), installing smart tills and digital signage and smartening up of the décor.
Julie Rennison, managing director of the Town Hall, said: “Our bid showed the main areas of spend will be IT/digital, decoration and staffing.
“This includes streaming of weddings to guests at home, installing smart tills and digital signage plus smartening up of the décor.
“We’re trying to be green in our choices and use local companies and skills as much as possible.
“This heritage building always had great potential for weddings and now our modernized offer will make us much more competitive.”
