THE Cliffs Pavilion is set to shut down for three months next year for a facelift and urgent work to upgrade its power supply.

The theatre, in Station Road, Westcliff, is likely to close for up to three months over the summer of 2020, for the work to take place.

About £1m will be spent on the improvement plan, focussing on external areas to rejuvenate the building to create more of an “upmarket offer for the borough”.

Southend Council also plans to spend £170,000 for new power supply equipment in 2019/20 and a further £30,000 the following year.

Both the facelift and power supply work would take place during the three-month closure.

The council says the current power supply equipment could fail unless the it is replaced. This could mean the theatre’s operators, HQ Theatres, could claim for loss of income, a council budget report reveals.

In a report to Southend Council’s Cabinet, which meets on Thursday to consider its budget, officers say: “The works are anticipated to take three months and if the theatre is unable to close for that period then the power will need to be run from generators with an extra cost of £280,000.

“The theatre is scheduled to close for three months in summer 2020 to allow works to take place.”

The cash for the Cliffs forms part of Southend Council’s capital investment plan.

The capital budget, which is separate to the council’s day to day revenue budget, is used to make one-off investments in things like regeneration and housing projects, and to carry out essential improvements to leisure and cultural facilities and ICT systems. Funding is raised from a mixture of external funding, reserves and borrowing.

The proposals for new projects include £3.25m over the next two years to replace our aging Pier trains which were introduced in 1986 with a predicted 20 year lifespan and an additional £3m over three years to fix more pavements and roads.