THE Milton Rooms in Malton has made a new appeal for support to help it survive the current lockdown restrictions.

The community and entertainment venue, which is a charitable trust run by a board of trustees and operated by volunteers, has spent a large part of 2020 closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Chairman Ray King said with little income coming in at present, help from the community was needed to meet the considerable ongoing costs, including insurance and utility bills, of keeping the building running.

He said: “It costs a significant amount to maintain the Milton Rooms, and during the Covid emergency we have been unable to run a full programme of events and those we have been able to run have been with a limited audience.

“So we are asking our local community to help support us. I do realise how difficult it is for everyone at the moment, but all help would be welcomed.”

Venue manager Lisa Rich said: “We were delighted to reopen our doors in September, following nearly six months of closure and received amazing feedback from our audiences.

“However, at the beginning of November, we had to sadly close our doors once more and now we have the new tier system in place for probably some time.

“The Milton Rooms is a vital community hub and we are asking for support to help us to survive this most challenging of times.

“We look forward to welcoming our audiences and users back in the very near future and are working on a diverse and dynamic programme of events for when we are able to re-open fully.”

Three Covid-secure events are going ahead this month. Magical Quests, a festive children’s event, has already sold out, however, tickets are on sale for a concert by local musicians Taphouse Burnout on Saturday, December 19.

On the afternoon of Sunday, December 20, there will be a fun and informative talk on ‘‘Dickens - The Man Who Invented Christmas?’’, a look at the history of Christmas customs and how Dickens influenced modern day festivities.

To book ticket for events, go to themiltonrooms.com/events and to donate to the appeal, go to gofundme.com/f/the-milton-rooms-charity