Bosses at Carlisle’s flood-hit Old Fire Station arts centre say the building being out of action has shown people what they’re missing out on – proving how vital the venue is to the city.

Work to get the Rickergate site back up and running following December’s storm is continuing and Carlisle City Council says it could be open before the end of next month, ahead of schedule.

The council-owned building cost £1m to transform into a state-of-the-art venue designed to fill a gap in the entertainments market for smaller, more intimate arts gigs.

It opened with great fanfare last May. But seven months later was deluged by 6ft of water during the winter storm.

The Cumberland News was given behind the scenes access to the building as contractors enter the final stages of the huge repair project – which has cost in the region of £500,000.

The man with overall responsibility for the venue, the council’s contracts and community services manager, Gavin Capstick, said people would not be able to see much of a difference, except for a few minor but important tweaks.

“No equipment, furniture or fittings was salvageable. The building needed significant work doing to it and the first step was just a lot of drying out,” he said.

“Certainly no one would have wished for a flood on the scale of December.

“But once you get over the shock it does present some opportunities, it’s given us a chance to make some tweaks.

“Having said that the changes have been quite small, which is testament to the design in the first place.

“But the ones we are making will make a big difference.”

Mr Capstick said things like making doorways slightly bigger, a permanent box office and moving the bar forward to improve how quickly staff can serve customers will add to the venue’s experience.

In April the city council’s arts officer Stephen Dunn said that 40 gigs had been cancelled at that point in the year, with two relocated to Harraby Community Centre.

According to Mr Dunn, absence makes the heart grow fonder when it comes to the Old Fire Station.

He said: “We are basically waiting to pick up where we were [before Storm Desmond], bringing people as much of a varied programme as possible, that’s music, the spoken word, drama and more.

“Plus we want to continue to engage with people and make it feel like it’s their venue, which was really starting to happen.

“People seem to really miss it, which proved there was a need for this place.

“There were a few people who were saying can the city have The Brickyard and the Old Fire Station? They complement each other.”

One of the key changes, pioneered by Mr Dunn was to change the lighter colouring inside for black walls.

“Now we have gone for the classic black box theatre style it will be more ambient and should make the space come alive,” he added.

Anne Quilter, who holds the city council’s brief on culture, heritage and leisure, said getting the centre back up to speed was a priority for the authority, after helping people get back into their homes.

“As it had been so successful we really wanted to reopen it,” she told The Cumberland News .

“It adds an extra dimension to the opportunities available in the city in terms of culture. We are really pleased to hear that we’re on track for the opening.”

The first floor of the Old Fire Station was untouched by the floods.

But only one feature from the ground floor survived: an illuminated art deco stained glass window featuring the sun behind Carlisle Castle, inherited from the former Lonsdale Cinema in Warwick Road.

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service closed the building in 2012, seven years after it flooded in 2005.

Nineties’ boy band 911, led by Carlisle-born Lee Brennan, will play there on September 30.

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