Caernarfon Herald

CONCERT VENUE HOPE FOR HALL

Musician reveals her plan after buying historic building:

- Owen Hughes

ALONDON- BASED musician has bought Caernarfon’s historic former courthouse and county hall – with ambitious plans to transform the site into a concert venue and tearooms.

Built in 1863 and listed as Grade I in 1953, the town’s crown and magistrate­s court closed in 2009.

It was snapped up and turned into an eight-bedroom house but went back on the market in 2016 for £525,000.

After initially struggling to secure a new buyer, estate agent Beresford Adams recently completed the sale to musician Moira Hartley.

She now hopes to transform the building again to create a concert hall and tearoom in the heart of the historic town.

Ms Hartley said: “I have been looking for a concert venue for a long time now and my sister saw this place on the internet.

“I was instantly interested and first came last April to take a look. I knew straight away that the building could work.

“Other places I had been to did not have the concert space I needed for this but this was perfect. This is such an amazing building.”

The deal has taken several months to go through and she received the keys earlier this month.

She said: “I have been in touch with the planning department and put in for pre-planning.

“They were positive about the plans I have for the building, although we now need to secure full planning permission before we can move ahead.”

Ms Hartley plans would see a concert hall in the former crown court building and a tearoom in the old magistrate­s court.

She would keep the cells open for the public to view.

Ms Hartley said the investment would be “significan­t”.

She added: “This should be good for the town.

“Another reason I chose this site was because I did not see anything too similar in the area.

“Galeri is a good venue but we want to do something a little different with cabaret concerts where people can eat and be entertaine­d at the same time. We want to put on a range of concerts, from classical to jazz and anything else, we want the community to use this building and open it up to everyone.

“My aim is to strip back as much as we can to restore the building to how it was and reveal as much as possible.

“The plans are being drawn up now and we hope to submit these to the council as soon s as possible.

“It is too early to say when the project will be open but the sooner the better.”

She believes this is a good time t to invest in the town.

She said: “I am very positive about the future here. We have the local market and also all the visitors that come here every e year.”

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 ??  ?? ● Musician Moira Hartley outside Caernarfon’s former courthouse, which she plans to turn into a concert venue
● Musician Moira Hartley outside Caernarfon’s former courthouse, which she plans to turn into a concert venue

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