Rambert's giant leap with a £7m grant

The Rambert Dance Company's dream of a state-of-the-art home on the South Bank has moved a huge jump closer thanks to a £7million Lottery boost.

The Arts Council award means the leading contemporary dance company now has £17million of the £19.6million needed for the premises that will provide hi-tech studio facilities, together with space for archives and the chance to offer income-generating classes.

The new HQ, in a tower which will also incorporate a leisure centre and flats, will take Rambert to the heart of the South Bank cultural quarter from its current Chiswick base, which has been deemed unfit for purpose.

A company spokesman said they were very grateful. "The news provides a high degree of certainty for our plans as we work to raise the final amount needed to complete our campaign." Building is due to start in the spring with completion by spring 2013.

The grant is one of four totalling £17.2million being awarded to arts organisations in London by the Arts Council, after a special programme to support bodies through the recession identified some which warranted help to sustain their future.

The Battersea Arts Centre will get £2.5million for building improvements. The venue has been given a long lease by Wandsworth council. The Lyric theatre in Hammersmith gets £4.5million for an extension and the Whitechapel Gallery gets £3.2 million for an endowment, providing an income to help it cope with a jump in visitor numbers.

The Arts Council has been hit by a 30 per cent government funding cut over the next four years but today's grants come from the separate Lottery funds, which have risen because of increased ticket sales. They are not used for day-to-day running costs of organisations but for specific projects.

More Lottery funding will return to the arts after the Olympics. The four London awards announced today will be studied for lessons on how that money should be spent.