£7.5m PLAN TO TRANSFORM GUILDHALL
£7.5M PLANS TO TRANSFORM ST MARY’S GUILDHALL INTO A ‘PREMIER’ EVENTS AND CONFERENCING VENUE
A £7.5 MILLION plan is being explored which would transform Coventry’s historic St Mary’s Guildhall into a ‘premier’ events and conferencing venue.
Coventry council wants to make the heritage asset ‘financially sustainable’ as it is costing the authority between £150,000 to £200,000 a year after income.
Plans to develop the site into a ‘high quality hospitality and events venue’ could generate an income of £1m to £1.3m per year.
Costs are estimated to be between £5.5m to £7.5m, with £1.5m already earmarked for the Guildhall in the recent budget announcement.
Transformation of the site includes a new bar and lounge area, and a new kitchen and back of house.
The council also wanted to open up the medieval kitchen – which is one of only five medieval kitchens which remain intact in the UK.
Plans to develop a ‘concept plan’ were backed by members of a Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board on Wednesday.
Cllr Rachel Lancaster said: “I do really like the idea of opening up the medieval kitchen. It is an absolute gem.
“My only concern is everything has to be done to maintain its Grade I listing.
“But if we find the money to do this it could be an absolute jewel in our city.”
The council approximately ‘breaks even’ if it contributed between £2.5m, to £3.5m to the project, which could be from a grant or a council loan.
But other funding options are needed, with the Heritage Lottery Fund and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport considered as two other potential sources.
The ambition of the project could be reduced if funding is not found, Andrew Walster, technical director at the council said, but “to do nothing is not an option”.
He added: “We are working to a 2021 delivery” but the target depended on finding funding and meeting requirements from potential objectors.”
Commercial business director Grant McKelvie said: “Our desire is to significantly improve the visitor experience and ensure people have the wow factor when they come in.
“We have created a concept scheme but we know there are some things in there from a heritage point of view that may not be acceptable.
“We have tried to keep very close to the heritage value.”