One of Carlisle’s major arts and entertainments venues is to be placed in brand new hands.

The Old Fire Station, now firmly established as one of Carlisle’ key venues for music, comedy and art, has been run by the city council since it opened in 2015.

Now the local authority is looking for an “experienced operator” to lease and manage the venue.

The council hopes that by handing over stewardship of the Old Fire Station to an operator with a proven track record of running an arts and entertainment venue, it will be able to further flourish as a hub of entertainment and cultural activity.

A spokeswoman for Carlisle City Council said: “The Old Fire Station is a well-established arts and entertainment venue.

“We want to develop the venue and strengthen its role as a sustainable focus for the city’s cultural life.

“We are seeking an experienced operator to lease and wholly manage the arts and entertainment centre, including the bar and catering facilities.”

The council hopes that by handing over the reins the Old Fire Station’s success can be further developed.

“This is an exciting opportunity to create a recognisably distinctive venue, atmosphere and events programme to reinforce the Old Fire Station’s role at the centre of Carlisle’s cultural life,” the spokeswoman said.

“This would offer a good range of styles and types of event to serve a wide range of customers.”

The Old Fire Station takes its name from the building’s previous life as the home of Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service in the city centre until 2012, when the newly-built Carlisle west and east fire stations opened.

Carlisle City Council then launched their plans to turn the Warwick Street building into a brand new arts centre.

In 2015, a £1m redevelopment project was completed at the Old Fire Station - yet less than a year later, in a cruel twist of fate, the building was seriously affected by the flooding brought about by Storm Desmond.

The floods caused significant damage throughout the building, and put the venue out of action for the next nine months.

Repairs cost a total of £500,000 to complete.

Once The Old Fire Station reopened in 2016, it quickly found its feet as a prime city centre venue for a range of events, from art shows to theatre performances and a wide array of music gigs.

The city council is currently looking to appoint a new operator for the Old Fire Station in the next couple of months.

It is expected that a new arrangement for the Old Fire Station will have been put in place by April.

The city council is currently fielding expressions of interest from candidates who are in a position to take on the Old Fire Station, after first putting out a tender opportunity for the venue in 2018.

The deadline for expressions of interest to be submitted to the council is Thursday February 13.