Birmingham Town Hall News

Grant secures future of historic Town Hall

Today�s announcement of a �13.5m grant will see the Grade One listed building back in operation within three years. It was closed in 1996 amid public safety fears for the ageing building.

The building is modelled on the Roman Temple of Castor and Pollux and was originally the venue for Birmingham�s Triennial Festival which premiered works by Elgar and Mendelssohn in the 19th century. It was the home of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Edward Elgar and Simon Rattle, until the opening of the acclaimed Symphony Hall. The Town Hall hosted many other big names in its day � including Bob Dylan and the Beatles.

A �32m refurbishment will restore the building to its former glory including the re-creation of a standing concert space used by Victorian performances and dances. Birmingham City Council will contribute �14.3 million and more money is expected from the regional development agency Advantage West Midlands and the EU

The city council�s cabinet member for leisure and culture, Cllr Ian Ward said: �I believe that the reopening of the town hall is a major building block in Birmingham�s bid for European Capital of Culture 2008 and will play a huge role in our cultural scene.�

Anne Jenkins, HLF regional manager, said: �It will be an incredible thrill to see Birmingham Town Hall brought back to life. It is a stunning building and its long history means it has in some way touched the lives of people right across the region.�

Scheduled to reopen shortly before Christmas 2005, the town hall will seat an audience of 900 and provide space for mixed-use entertainment including concerts, exhibitions and conferences.

Birmingham Town Hall revamp on track

Birmingham�s historic Town Hall is on track to reopen in time for the city�s planned reign as European Capital of Culture in 2008.

The renovation moves a huge step closer to reality today with the appointment of specialist contractors to mastermind the �31 million project. Wates Construction, a Birmingham firm, will start work on the 167-year-old Grade I listed building in Victoria Square next summer.

City council leaders are confident the scheme can be fully funded and that the Town Hall will reopen to the public as a multi-use entertainment venue in time for Christmas 2005. The building was closed six years ago when it was found to be unsafe.

Birmingham�s 167-year-old Town Hall was designed by Joseph Hansom and modelled on the Roman temple of Castor and Pollux. Before the opening of Symphony Hall in 1991 it had been home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra originally under the baton of Sir Edward Elgar. In the 19^th century it was also a venue for the famous Birmingham Triennial Music Festivals � which are due to be revived as part of the European Capital of Culture proposals.

The cost of carrying out the Town Hall project will be met from National Lottery funds and by the city council. A public appeal may be launched to cover a potential �1.5 million funding gap, although it remained unclear last night whether this would now be necessary.

Cllr Ian Ward, Birmingham cabinet member for leisure, sport and culture, said the appointment of contractors represented a significant moment in the recent history of the Town Hall.  "I am delighted that we have Wates on board and I have been impressed by the commitment they have shown so far," he said.

Matthew Kennedy, Wates' regional director, said: "We are confident from the work that we have done so far with the Town Hall team that this project will be a major success for Birmingham."

Wates has been responsible for several high-profile reconstruction projects including work on Buckingham Palace and the Foreign Office.

Project director Graham Allen, the council's senior assistant director of leisure and culture, said it was likely scaffolding would be placed around the Town Hall by next July.  The first phase of the contract will involve cleaning the stonework.  The second-phase contract, allowing the bulk of restoration work to take place, will be awarded to Wates by the end of 2003.

Mr Allen said: "We have made significant progress on this project and although there is much more work to do it is looking good for work to commence in earnest in the summer of next year."

The council is considering ways of enabling the public to see stonemasons undertake the highly complex work.

Mr Allen said: "It would be quite something to give people the opportunity to watch these ancient skills."

When refurbished the Town Hall will provide space for a broad range of civic, cultural, business and community uses.  Functions to be staged in the building will range from classical and popular music to antique and business fairs and corporate events.

Adown-payment of �200,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund means work can start on assessing the amount and nature of repairs needed on the external fabric of the historic Grade One Listed building.

One of the first steps has been to find a source of enough stone to match the original. Birmingham Town Hall is built of Anglesey Marble transported from North Wales around 170 years ago. The original quarry is now closed and another nearby does not have enough stone to complete all the likely repairs.

Some 1000 tonnes of stone is likely to be needed for repair work to the building which is modelled on the Roman Temple of Castor and Pollux.

After some extensive detective work surveyors have narrowed the choice down to three quarries - two in Cumbria and the one in Anglesey close to the original source. Samples from each are to be tested to see if they are of a suitable quality and will weather in the right way.

Scaffolding will soon be erected at the front of the building to enable surveyors to start assessing the various types of stone and their suitability.

"This is clearly a very historic building and our funders will want to see that conservation issues are given a very high priority," explains Graham Allen, the city's museums boss. "There is still a lot of work to be done and we need to have dedicated support to see the project develop in the right way."

The city council is now planning to appoint a project director who will see the Town Hall renovation through to completion.

"This person will have responsibility for the successful delivery of a complex and high-profile project," says Cllr Brenda Clarke, Birmingham Cabinet member for leisure, culture and tourism. "They will need to share our commitment to the importance of the Town Hall in the city's heritage and know just what it means to the people of Birmingham."

In August last year the Heritage Lottery Fund approved a first stage grant of �9.8m towards a �23.7m restoration project. The city council's Executive Committee is now being asked to approve the appointment of the project director to oversee the funding package, public appeal, capital works and future programme of the Town Hall.

Since the Town Hall closed, surveys have revealed it would cost around �7.4 million to carry out basic repairs and refurbishment. But arts bosses believe even that would still leave its operation vulnerable and unable to find a secure place in the city's performing arts scene. Instead, the latest plans provide for a new floor and tiered seating to bring in a greater programming range of dance, music theatre and other types of performance - including cabaret and light entertainment.

An application to the Arts Lottery Fund to secure the future of the building and restore some of the original features of Joseph Hansom's design was turned down in 1998.

Revised plans for restoring and re-opening the building now include an increased funding commitment from Birmingham City Council and a public appeal.

"Local people have been a great help by contributing their support and organising fund-raising, and we must thank the Town Hall Millennium Group for gathering names in a petition to support our funding bid. This all shows the Town Hall is a much-loved building and we are committed to it re-opening with a secure future," adds Cllr Clarke.

Since the Town Hall foyer was opened to the public earlier this year more than 2,000 people have visited to see an exhibition to show off the restoration scheme.