INTERNATIONALLY renowned team employed as £13.7million renovation project on the Hexagon Theatre reaches first milestone.

The Hexagon theatre in Reading will be renovated as part of the council’s £13.7million investment, funded by the government’s Levelling Up scheme.

Reading Council announced the official appointment of the “internationally renowned professional team” who will support this major project moving forward.

Prize-winning architectural studio, Haworth Tompkins, will be working with a large design team, including Charcoalblue as theatre and acoustic consultants, JCLA as landscape architects, Momentum as structural engineers and Skelly and Couch as service engineers.

The plan at the Hexagon Theatre is to extend to the right-hand side of the existing building with an entrance directly off Queens Walk.

This will form the first phase of a longer-term regeneration of the 1970s-built Hexagon.

Reading residents, including Sally Cooke said they are “looking forward” to the revamp.

Other residents have been wondering if the renovation will provide more “much needed seats”.

Veena Acabarali said the theatre needs more spaces for disabled people, which Anit Lanu agreed with.

Anit said: “I hope it provides proper disabled seats.

Director lead for the project, Lucy Picardo from Haworth Tompkins, said the group is "thrilled to be appointed".

"Building upon our extensive experience, working on over 30 performing arts projects, we are excited to be given the opportunity to work alongside Reading Council to develop proposals for an ambitious, sustainable, adaptable theatre and community space next to the Hexagon Theatre", Lucy added.

The theatre development is part of a wider plan to create the ‘Minster Quarter’.

The Minster Quarter plan will include building hundreds of new homes in a significant area of the town centre, creating a "vibrant thriving new community at the heart of the town", Reading Council says.

The £13.7million renovation has been made possible by the governments Levelling Up fund that is also helping fund a new central library at Reading Council's Civic Offices.