Town hall plans in place
THE £16m revamp of a town’s stunning neo-gothic town hall is to be carried out by an award-winning architecture firm.
Plans to restore the Grade I-listed building in Rochdale have taken a major step forward with the appointment of Donald Insall Associates the outfit behind a host of prestigious projects including Manchester’s John Rylands Library and the women’s suffrage memorial in Parliament Square.
The firm will lead a team of specialists in transforming the Victorian town hall, following a successful bid for £8.9m from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Although once at the heart of the borough’s civic life, the town hall is now used mainly for functions.
But the project will restore its many historic features, including the Magna Carta mural and ceiling panels in the Great Hall and its extensive stained glass windows.
It will also be brought back into public use, with features telling the story of Rochdale and its people.
The old first-floor library – which was more recently used as office space – will also be restored and reopened as the new Bright Hall, named in honour of the Rochdale family of prominent industrialists and radical politicians.
The restoration of the town hall, which is due for completion in 2023, is part of a wider £400m regeneration of Rochdale town centre.