A BUSINESS tycoon has given £800,000 to help complete the restoration of the Royal Hall Theatre in Harrogate.

The money from the local benefactor will be spent by the Royal Hall Restoration Trust on reopening the upper balcony of the Grade II* listed building.

The restoration project has already had £6m from the National Heritage Lottery Fund and £2m from Harrogate Borough Council, which owns the theatre. A further £2m was raised by the trust.

Lilian Mina, trust chairman, said the latest donation meant the full 1,150 seats could be retained. It had been thought that only 850 would be brought back into use.

Mrs Mina said: "I'm ecstatic to receive such a huge donation. It is tremendous news and a fantastic fillip to the whole project."

In addition to reopening the upper balcony, the trust will be able to pay for full heritage decoration, dominated by gold leaf work throughout the interior.

Money has come in from small events such as coffee mornings to major occasions.

Prince Charles, patron of the theatre, has seen the restoration work so far and it is hoped he will be able to attend the reopening.

Actor Edward Fox, president of the trust, is also closely following the renovation work as it progresses.

Mrs Mina praised the handling of the project by the borough council. "The core restoration work has been very successful to date and the project team has done a marvellous job."

Extra money is still needed, £70,000 for curtains, £80,000 for carpets and £190,000 for a new lounge bar, plus £50,000 to restore original stained glass windows, largely destroyed in a German bombing raid during the Second World War.

Mrs Mina said the challenge was to raise the extra £390,000 over the next few months.