Daniel Cowan has welcomed a £540,000 Historic England grant for urgent conservation work at Southend's Kursaal.
The funding will address structural and water-damage problems and help make the Grade II-listed building weather-tight and secure.
Work will focus on the landmark dome entrance and ticket hall. The grant supports essential stabilisation and repair rather than a full restoration or reopening of the whole complex.
The award follows a funding application submitted by Nick Singer of Star Amusements. The business is part of Remblance Leisure Limited, the new leaseholder working with the council and heritage bodies on the site.
The Kursaal opened at the end of the nineteenth century and is regarded as one of Southend's most recognisable buildings. Its long-term future has been the subject of repeated restoration efforts.
Cowan said the grant represented an important step in protecting the building. No date has been confirmed for a wider reopening, and the grant does not complete the Kursaal's redevelopment.
