Plans for extra seating at Grade II listed theatre

Plans have been lodged to add extra seating and create better views at York's Grand Opera House.

An application to City of York Council proposes installing a row of 15 seats at the back of the theatre's third tier.

Further planned alterations to the Clifford Street and Cumberland Street venue include reducing the height of the third tier's screens and the removal of brass finish rails.

The move would transform an underused part of the venue, the application said, creating extra income and boosting capacity to more than 1,000 people.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the floor would be raised behind the current back row to house the new seats.

Access would be provided via steps matching those already in the Grade II listed building.

Screens installed during renovations in the 1980s separating the third tier's rows would be lowered by 20cm (8in) to improve audience views.

A false brass rail at the front of the second tier would also be removed to improve visibility.

The application stated: "The additional seating will utilise an element of the third tier which has been quite literally useless for a considerable amount of time, thereby bringing it into beneficial purpose."

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