Chance for public to have their say on plan to transform town hall

PLANS TO transform Skipton Town Hall into a cultural hub for the region are to be showcased to the public.

The £5m proposals include plans for a new Craven Museum and Exhibition Gallery.

A public consultation will be staged on June 2 and 3, when visitors will have the chance to see plans, offer feedback, take part in behind-the-scenes tours of the museum and get up close with some artefact handling sessions.

Danielle Daglan, programming and venue development manager at Craven District Council, said: “We’re keen for the community to have an opportunity to look at the overall plans for the development of Skipton Town Hall and give us their thoughts.

“It’s a really good opportunity for people to see behind the scenes at the museum – a lot of people don’t realise quite how much we have in our collections.”

The architects who are designing the restorations will be giving presentations at 11.30am and 1.30pm on both days, showing the initial plans including blueprints for the museum and gallery.

The tours will take place at 11am, noon, 1pm and 2pm, also on both days, showing residents the collection kept in store, including a range of fine art, archaeology and historical artefacts which are rarely seen.

Residents will be asked to give feedback on the proposals, which will be taken into account as the plans move forward.

The town hall should be ready for opening around spring or summer in 2019.

People can fill in a survey about the museum plans at www. cravendc.gov.uk/museum consultation.