Boost for building trade as firm wins prestige contract

The contract for Baths Hall will be awarded – subject to a 15-day cooling off period – to Clugston Construction.

Managing director Steve Radcliffe said the contract would come as a huge boost not only to their workforce, but the local supply chain, hard hit by the downturn in the industry.

He said: "It is widely recognised that the construction industry has been amongst the most severely affected by the recession. The project will employ 60 to 70 people on average, with up to 130 on the project at the busiest time.

"UKCG, the UK Contractors Group has recently published a report highlighting the benefits of investment in construction, evidencing that it is one of the most effective ways of stimulating growth at the time of recession. North Lincolnshire Council's commitment to the investment in this project is to be applauded."

Council leader Mark Kirk – who met his wife at Baths Hall – said the venue would bring back a "sense of fun and entertainment into Scunthorpe at a time when it needs it."

The council says due to a drop in construction costs the scheme will cost 14.4m – 1.3m less than anticipated.

However, opposition Tory councillors who have opposed the scheme from the start say is poorly designed, lacks adequate parking and will prove a "massive" drain on the taxpayer.

The 2,000-capacity concert venue will contain seating for a bar and cafe and extensive backstage facilities.

For many teenagers in the 1960s the Baths Hall was the region's answer to the Cavern Club. The Kinks, The Who, the Hollies and Animals were among the famous names who made Scunthorpe's Baths Hall a golden memory. It featured in the Barton author Ted Lewis's gangster novel, Jack's Return Home, which has been filmed twice as Get Carter.

However the days when it was considered a prestige gig had long gone by the time the Tories finally called time on the venue in 2006, saying it was no longer viable.

Part of the building has already been demolished.