The deal comes as Bath and North East Somerset Council gave the go-ahead this week for the new centre for the arts.

Opening in Autumn 2014, the aluminium-clad building will boast dance studios, theatre, performance spaces and orchestra-sized rehearsal studios.

The building forms part of the university’s £100m campus improvement programme.

John Struthers, director of the Institute of Contemporary Interdisciplinary Arts said: “With this investment we plan to establish the Centre as a nationally recognised hub for contemporary arts and I look forward to welcoming people from across the region when we open the doors next Autumn.”