A FUNDRAISER for a project to convert an arts space into a hotel for visitors has revealed the vision for the building.

Performing arts and crafts centre, New Brewery Arts wishes to transform its Niccol Centre building on Cricklade Street, Cirencester into a hostel with 13 rooms that can accommodate up to 49 persons, as part of its Barrel Store Project.

Once complete it will become the first public ‘passivhaus’ (low carbon footprint building) in the country.

Currently the building is being used as a 70 seat theatre and part of the transformation plans, include constructing a gabled two-storey porch that has a fully glazed frameless ground floor.

Beth Alden, who is a fundraiser for the project said when the building is transformed it will provide a place to stay for people who travel from far and wide to do complete craft courses the NBA provides, such as stone carving.

She said: “By creating visitors accommodation people will be able to come in and visit New Brewery Arts in Cirencester.

“Or it will mean that people visiting from Scotland can come and do a week course.”

She explained that the accommodation would be affordable, with rooms being priced at around £20 per night.

“We are going for affordable accommodation rather than high quality expensive accommodation One of the key reasons the NBA is creating the hostel is so it can continue to generate enough funds to cover running costs.

Beth, who is a former trustee of the NBA, explained: “We want to be able to make enough money to provide everything that we do.

“We are making enough to be able to subsidise but things are tight.

“Government arts funding has been cut so the county council and Cotswold District Council have cut their arts funding in 2011.”

Although, when plans for the Niccol Centre were submitted, the hostel was described as a 'youth hostel', Beth Alden explains that their idea for the building how now evolved and it will now have appeal to more age groups.

The NBA recently received about £400,000 funding from the project from the Arts Council England – meaning they are now £400,000 short of their £1.2 million target, which it needs to raise before construction work can begin.

If you wish to donate £10 towards the Barrel Store Project text BRRL10 to 70070.