Doncaster Council has revealed the design of a new £22.5m performance venue that is set to become the "cultural anchor" of a new £300m civic and cultural quarter for the town.

Plans include a 600-seat main auditorium across two levels to ensure that audiences can get close to the action, while a second flexible space is set to be able to accommodate 200 seated or 400 standing spectators. Dance and drama studios, two rehearsal and education spaces and a bar and café also form part of the scheme, which features a glass-fronted design drawn up by Arts Team - part of Renton Howard Wood Levin.

The council's development partner, Muse Developments, is due to launch a tender process for a main contractor once plans are given the go ahead in order to allow work to get underway in 2011. Yorkshire Forward has already pledged £9.1m towards the scheme as part of a wider £16.6 contribution towards the civic and cultural quarter development. Arts Council England has provided £2m from the National Lottery and a further £100,000 of revenue funding per year.

Urban design group Whitelaw Turkington has been appointed to design the public space in front of the new venue, which is scheduled to open in 2013. Doncaster Council cabinet member for neighbourhoods and regulatory/customer services, Cynthia Ransome, said: "These exciting designs show how Doncaster's venue is going to become one of the most talked about venues in the country.

"With performances varying from live music and family entertainment to contemporary dance and drama, the in-built flexibility will become the norm for other venues to aspire to."