Exactly a year after the old Marlowe Theatre closed, its £27.5 million replacement is taking shape, on time and on budget.

The colonnades which will wrap around the front of the building are being put in place this month and the topping out ceremony should take place at the end of June. The roof will go on in the next two weeks and the cladding will follow that.

Already it is possible to see the shape of the main auditorium and the second space and theatre director Mark Everett and his staff are now thinking hard about the programme and the launch show for when the theatre opens its doors towards the end of next year.

Peter Williams, chairman of the New Marlowe Theatre Development Trust, said nine tenths of the cost had already been raised, leaving £2.5 million still to find.

“The new Marlowe will put an extra £8 million into the economy of this area,” Mr Williams said. “I think it is remarkable that in this present economic climate we have managed to raise this money but it shows the level of commitment there is to the project from the community.

“The last mile is always the hardest but we are on track to do this. I have always said the Marlowe was a community project and the way in which people have handed over their money to the appeal shows they feel the same and recognise they wlll benefit from it.”

Canterbury council’s head of culture Janice McGuinness said: “The project is on time and on budget and is looking fantastic. The colonnades make it look like a real theatre and I think it is amazing that this structure has gone up in just a year.

“It will be the most amazing theatre in Kent and will be so much more than just a 1,200-seater auditorium. The new Marlowe will have a turn-over of £7 million a year. It is a big business and it will pay for itself many times over in terms of the economic benefit it will bring to the area,”