Work to reinstall blades on Curve Theatre starts

Work to reinstall all sun-break metal louvres on the outside of Leicester's Curve Theatre has started as part of a £2.2m programme of repairs.

One of the louvres, called "brise soleil", fell off the building and into Orton Square in May and a large cordon was set up, which has been in place ever since.

It then emerged a number of the original fixings that attached the brise soleil to the building had failed, which meant they all needed to be removed for repairs.

The contractor that originally installed the blades went into administration in 2023 and landlord Leicester City Council had to pick up the £2.2m bill for the repairs, which are expected to be completed in the autumn.

There were approximately 700 of the brise soleil louvres on the outside of the building, which have all been removed.

Each blade measures between 5.5m (18ft) and 6.4m (20ft) long, 1m (3.2ft) wide and weighs approximately 150kg (23.6 stone).

Work to reinstall them had started when the BBC visited the site on Friday, when seven of the brise soleil had been cleaned, lifted by telehandler and reattached by workers.

The city council said work was on track to be completed by the autumn, when the cordon will be lifted and Rutland Street reopened.

The Curve Theatre was designed by New-York based architect Rafael Vinoly and was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 2008.

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