Britten Pears Arts is investing in the future of Snape Maltings so that our buildings, spaces and facilities can support artists, audiences, participants and communities for generations to come.

The first major phase of work, the redevelopment of the Britten Pears Building, is nearing completion. This will create more accessible and flexible spaces for artist development, community activity, creative health work and wider public use.

The next phase will focus on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. From early 2027, we will begin works to improve accessibility, comfort, sustainability and programming flexibility, while protecting the unique character and acoustic excellence of the Hall.

Across the wider site, the capital programme also includes sustainability improvements, flood resilience, better access routes and enhanced outdoor spaces. Together, these works will help secure the long-term future of Snape Maltings as a place where music, creativity and landscape come together. 

We are delighted to have been awarded a £1.9 million Creative Foundations Fund (CFF) grant by Arts Council England, towards the second phase of our Capital Programme: making Snape Maltings an accessible, sustainable, Creative Campus for all. The grant will go towards the cost of restoring Snape Maltings Concert Hall, with work commencing in January 2027. The first phase of work, on the Britten Pears Building, is nearing completion, and the building will open for the Aldeburgh Festival this June.

Full details of the CFF grant can be found here.

We are now focussing our fundraising efforts on raising £3.6m for the flood defences and climate control elements of the project. This work will start at the end of 2026.  

Thank you for your patience and support whilst we continue on this important journey to protect our precious legacy and heritage.

Our spaces and our vision

Further information and contacts

Further information and contacts

We are enormously grateful for the support we have already received for the programme, and thank the supporters listed below. Read more of our vision in the East Anglian Daily Times.

If you would like to discuss other ways to contribute, please get in touch with Emily Stubbs [email protected]  

Updates and information will be shared with you as the programme develops further. In the meantime, we hope you will join us in our excitement about these transformational improvements.

Please see more information on our Press Release page.

We are grateful to the following funders for their generous support. 

For more information please email [email protected].

We are grateful to the following funders for their generous support.

Britten Pears Arts Capital Programme is supported using public funding by Arts Council England, and trusts & foundations, including Paul Hamlyn Foundation; 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust; East Suffolk Council Rural Business Investment Fund; East Suffolk Council Rural Business & Community Hub Fund; The Foyle Foundation; Garfield Weston Foundation; the Wolfson Foundation; the Clore Duffield Foundation; the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership; the John and Penelope Lebus Trust; the Vanneck Charitable Trust.

Individual donors include Charles & Pascale Clark; Angela & John Crowther; Matthew Greenburgh & Helen Payne; Keith & Frances Griffiths; Peter & Veronica Lofthouse; Angela & Lawrence Mallinson; Lindy & Mark O’Hare; David Robbie & Fred Goetzen; Simon & Victoria Robey; Clive & Eileen Schlee; Alan Swerdlow & Jeremy Greenwood; Sarah Zins; Paul & Sybella Zisman and other anonymous donors.