Tourist hopes for hall

ing job I’ve had in terms of the potential of where it could go,” says Sam, who is bringing expertise from his role as commercial director of the Science Museum and CEO of Brewery Arts, Kendal. “It might be an overused term, but the building is unique in Britain, and around the world there aren’t many buildings that look like this,” says Sam. “It should be a ‘must do’ visit for anyone coming to the north of England - it should be up there with York and the Lake District as somewhere you need to visit to experience the north of England.” Sam explains that the attraction for many people to the Piece Hall will be the outdoor events that will run throughout the year, including live music, theatre and cinema. “To have an outdoor space like this that can hold three or four thousand people is very rare. “To have an arena level capacity in such great surroundings - the potential is colossal. “The beauty we have here is that although you’re still going to be affected by the rain, but there’s no grass and no mud. “It would be great to reintroduce some of the markets - big event markets where people come from all over to come for that day,” he says. “Not many places can do that and have this scale - I think we can make it a ‘must visit’ around Christmas. “It’s going to be interesting to see how much of an evening culture we can get,” he says. “Obviously, if you’ve got evening events on that’s quite easy, but it’s about making it a family-orientated town centre evening offer and that’s quite hard to find these days. “Most town centres feel like no-go areas at night if you’re not 18 to 25 - a lot of town centres feel feral in the evenings. “We want to take a much more European approach where the natural thing is to go out in the evening with your family,” says Sam. Although the Piece Hall has received millions of pounds in public money through English Heritage and Calderdale Council, Sam explains that the Piece Hall will be sustainable as a business through its various revenue streams from renting units to businesses, cafes and retailers, to hosting corporate events and festivals. “It has to be a viable business. I have had many years’ experience as a commercial director, and understand how to run a profitable business,” he says. “Initially it will need some support because there will be a setup period - my hope that within three years it will be standing alone as a very viable business.