Breakdown of the numbers and planning for the future
RUNNING THE Piece Hall and keeping it free to enter requires some public money but the aim is to keep reducing this.
The year 2019-20 report shows the Piece Hall received £3.21 million in income while total costs were £3.96 million, reducing the gap on the previous year and making further progress towards its goal of being funded 80 per cent from its own income and 20 per cent from combinations of public money.
The year 2019-20 saw the Piece Hall grow its income by 33.5 per cent and reduce costs by a fifth, says the report.
The attraction’s reliance on Calderdale Council’s portion of funding has been reduced by 42.2 per cent through that year.
The Trust has indicated the average business model for a heritage building like this is 40 per cent private funding and 60 per cent public funding – at the Piece Hall 77 per cent comes from its own income leaving just 23 per cent reliant on public money, of which
8.5 per cent is coming from Calderdale’s Council Tax payers at the moment.
In terms of the next three years, the first will be about recovering from the pandemic, ensuring the Piece Hall can continue to be preserved and sustained, with the Trust believing in years two and three it can prepare for going into growth.
Trust Board members believe the building and what they offer has a key role to play in helping Calderdale recover economically and emotionally from the pandemic and make the most of a staycation boom.
Through the pandemic the Trust has generated £1.3 million of external grant funding and it has supported the businesses it houses through measures including six months of free rent, helping them sell through a Piece Hall online shop as well as their own websites and organising a click and collect service for tenants.
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