Project overview

The Cresset

Location: Peterborough, UK

For over four decades, The Cresset has been a cornerstone of community life in Peterborough. As a multi-purpose venue, it hosts a vibrant mix of live entertainment, local events, and community services, playing a vital role in the city’s cultural and social landscape.

The building is more than a venue—it’s a hub. Inside you’ll find:

  • A library, youth club, and theatre
  • Sports facilities, a daycare centre, and a church
  • Over 70 residential flats
  • A variety of spaces for corporate and private functions

Fully self-funded, The Cresset secured its future in 2014 by merging with YMCA Trinity Group, ensuring its legacy continues to thrive.

The Cresset already had an old Hussey Seating system in place, and after a few decades, it was time to update their seating system.

Solution

After a competitive tender process and a visit to a local site to view a similar system, The Cresset were confident Hussey Seatway would be the best partner to provide the new seating system.

The Cresset informed us of their top priorities for the new system, which were ease and speed of setup, and customer comfort.

We advised them to incorporate a semi-automatic operation for speed, and The Cresset chose our Gallery 3 chair with Logix portable seating for comfort.

The new system unit is 19 rows high and overall has 588 retractable seats and 288 Logix seats on the flat floor. The features included within the system include:

  • Removable row 0
  • 28 high-leg chairs
  • Eco-glo photoluminescent step trims
  • DMX controlled aisle lights
  • Self-storing side rails
  • Semi-automatic fold-down
  • Upholstered in the Camira Xtreme fabric range
Platform

Seatway TP

Seats

Gallery 3 & Logix

Number of seats

876

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“After more than 30 years with our original retractable seating bank, it became clear that an upgrade was long overdue. The system had become worn and was experiencing some operational challenges.
We went through a competitive tender process to ensure we selected the best partner for the project. As part of our decision-making, we visited a site where Hussey Seatway had installed a similar system. Seeing the product in action gave us even greater confidence in both the quality and functionality of their solutions.
Having worked with Hussey Seatway for many years—as both our servicing provider and trusted partner—we were confident in their ability to deliver a modern replacement. While we worked on securing the necessary funding, Hussey Seatway did an excellent job maintaining our existing system, ensuring it remained fully operational until we were ready to move forward.
When it came time to design the new seating, we made it clear that ease and speed of setup and customer comfort were top priorities. Hussey Seatway recommended incorporating semi-automatic operation, and it’s been a game-changer. The new system has dramatically reduced the time and manpower needed to deploy and retract the seating. The addition of aisle lighting has also improved visibility and added a sleek, modern touch—our customers here at The Cresset have been full of praise!
Despite a tight shutdown window for the installation, Hussey Seatway managed the removal of the old system and the installation of the new one seamlessly, all within the set timeframe. The entire process was smooth and efficient, and the result is a high-quality seating solution that meets all our needs.
We’re absolutely delighted with the advice, support, and final product provided by Hussey Seatway. Their team has been fantastic throughout and continues to provide excellent annual servicing”

Darren Buckman
Head of Cresset Operations