Piece Hall facilities call

THE revamped Piece Hall in Halifax has been too successful for its own good, it has been claimed.

The 18th century building had a £19 million restoration and reopened in last year.

But, a meeting was told, it was estimated that 1.3 million people would go there in the first year – when the reality was double that.

Businessman Geoff Fielden asked Calderdale Council’s Cabinet what capacity the site had for events, and said he didn’t believe there were enough facilities for the large numbers attending. Mr Fielden said he had been told after asking a question about crowd limits that he would receive information by letter.

Mr Fielden was back at last week’s Cabinet seeking answers and told the meeting: “What I received was an offensive email informing me the crowd limit was 7,000.”

He then turned to cabinet chairman and council leader Clr Tim Swift and said: “The answer to my question ‘did officers expect the numbers coming’ has been met by a conspiracy of silence. Can you answer that question now?”

Clr Swift said it was assumed before re-opening that around 1.3 million people would visit in its first year and the numbers had been nearly double that, which was good news.

Individual events had a crowd limit of 7,000 but at some events, like opening day on August 1, 2017, more people would be there but would be constantly coming and going, said Clr Swift.