Burnham’s Princess Theatre is set to get a makeover after the town council’s bid for a major Government grant was approved.

The £350,000 Hinkley Point Community Impact Mitigation Fund has been approved and will allow the council to renovate the theatre, with improvements including more comfortable seating and replacing doors and windows to improve its carbon footprint

The cash will also be used to make improvements to Burnham’s Esplanade to make it more attractive.

Princess Theatre manager Sam Nicol said: “We are very excited about being awarded the grant. A lot of folk put in some hard work with the bid and we are grateful to them.

“The renovations will bring the Princess up to date as a great venue for performing, crafting and fine arts, alongside its role as a community hub for groups holding meetings and companies from far and wide using our resources for training and meetings.”

“The Princess is an asset to the town and needs to be kept up to allow the over 180,000 users each year to continue to enjoy it.”

“There are many areas which desperately need updating – windows and doors in particular which will serve, not only to preserve the structure of the building but insulate it and reduce our carbon footprint.”

The works are part of the Burnham Evolution Project which aims to reinvigorate the town centre.

Burnham and Highbridge Town Council clerk, Tatiana Cant, who will leave soon, said: “We are thrilled to learn that the award has been granted to the Burnham Evolution Project.

“A hard-working project team put together the bid and organised consultation events.

“The ball is rolling now.

“With this funding in place, the town council can start work straight away on delivering these projects quickly and also make headway with securing more grants for other major improvements to help boost the local economy, create a thriving town and support our residents.

Newly-appointed clerk, Sam Winter said: “This is fantastic news that offers a real boost to the Princess and to Burnham.

“I am very excited to be joining a team striving to ensure community investment and improvement.”