BURNLEY Youth Theatre have applied to Lancashire County Council for a grant to help complete their dream move to new premises.

Earlier in the year, a grant of £365,000 from the Arts Council of England was awarded towards the cost, but the group are still £132,000 short of the estimated overall cost of £744,000.

They have applied to County Hall for financial help to meet that shortfall.

The new buildings, which will include a new studio, exhibition and office space, will replace the theatre's current wooden accommodation off Queens Park Road.

The group also has offices in Portacabins at the site, for which they pay rent.

Burnley Youth Theatre was formed by a small group of young amateur dramatics enthusiasts in 1973. It started life in Townley School and has been at its present location since 1978.

Around 350 young people are currently involved with the group who also stage productions in Pendle and Hyndburn and have completed projects in Rossendale and the Ribble Valley.

Alan Daiches, a volunteer worker on the board of the theatre outlined the reasons behind the move.

He said: "It is a combination of the fact that the current building is getting old and increasing demand for the things that we do means that we need more space."

The theatre also works with schools across East Lancashire, providing premises for those who do not have the facilities for GCSE Drama.

A new building would mean the number of schools it is able to help would also increase.

Although they are hopeful of a sizeable donation from Lancashire County Council, Burnley Youth Theatre know that they will still have a considerable amount left to find.

As well as a series of fund-raisers they will be making applications to other organisations and societies to complete the balance.

This year's Christmas production of Oscar Wilde's The Selfish Giant and Other Tales will be Burnley Youth Theatre's biggest show of the year and will be staged at Burnley Mechanics throughout December.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council confirmed that an application for a capital grant for the theatre was being considered and would be discussed at County Hall this week.