Willmott Dixon’s £10m Capitol theatre refurb: design and MEP notes for project teams
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Willmott Dixon Interiors has secured a £10m contract from Horsham District Council to deliver the first major refurbishment of The Capitol theatre since 2002, covering the main auditorium, cinema screens, toilets, bar areas and box office. Works include full mechanical, electrical and plumbing upgrades to suit a new internal layout, improved viewing positions and seating for disabled visitors, and decorative enhancements to front-of-house spaces and the external façade. The venue is planned to reopen in late 2026, with the contractor drawing on experience from Brent Civic Centre and The Amelia Scott cultural centre.
Technical Brief
- Contract value is £10m, indicating a mid-scale refurbishment with scope for full services replacement.
- Horsham District Council is the client, with Willmott Dixon Interiors acting as principal contractor.
- Works have already commenced, so design, surveys and enabling packages are assumed substantially complete.
- First major intervention since 2002 implies legacy MEP systems likely at or beyond typical service life.
- Reopening is targeted for late 2026, giving roughly a 2–3 year construction and commissioning window.
- Programme is constrained by the need to hit the annual pantomime season, limiting float on completion.
- Willmott Dixon Interiors brings recent heritage and cultural refurbishment experience from Granada cinema and The Amelia Scott.
Our Take
Willmott Dixon’s interiors arm has featured in several of our UK Infrastructure pieces as a preferred contractor for complex refurbishments of occupied public buildings, suggesting Horsham District Council is prioritising programme certainty and live-environment experience over lowest headline price.
A £10 million cultural asset upgrade in Horsham sits at the smaller end of project values in our 652 Infrastructure stories, but theatres and civic venues like The Capitol often carry disproportionate planning and stakeholder risk compared with their capex, which can elongate delivery towards dates such as the late‑2026 horizon here.
Previous coverage of Willmott Dixon’s work on civic and cultural hubs such as Brent Civic Centre and The Amelia Scott in Kent indicates the contractor is building a niche portfolio in multi-use public realm schemes, which can streamline approvals and funding bids for councils seeking to justify spend on town-centre regeneration.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
