Hopes are high that it will become Milan of the north!

ONE of Yorkshire’s best-known historic buildings, the Piece Hall in Halifax, is to reopen its gates to the public following a £19m-plus makeover.

At 10am on Yorkshire Day, August 1, the bell above the west gate will be rung to echo the first day of trading at The Piece Hall on January 1, 1779.

The opening will mark the transition of the management of the building from Calderdale Council to The Piece Hall Trust and will be a celebration of the restoration and transformation of the Grade I listed building.

The Piece Hall has a fascinating history from its origins in the 18th century as a place to trade pieces of cloth and on through its various guises as a marketplace, social space and home for political rallies, religious gatherings, shopping, sport and entertainment.

The project, which began in October 2014, has been beset by delays and was originally due to reopen in the summer of 2016.

And in March it was revealed, that for reasons that have never been explained, Sam Mason, who was appointed as chief executive of the Trust in 2015 to lead the development was to leave his position only months before its reopening.

Hopes are high among Calderdale’s business and political leaders that the building will become the Milan of the north.

Leader of Calderdale Council, Clr Tim Swift, said: “There can’t be a more fitting date for the reopening of The Piece Hall than