Historic hall attracts funding for new role as heritage centre

The new facility – called the Heritage Lounge – has been developed in partnership by Harrogate Borough Council and the Royal Hall Restoration Trust and will feature displays, items and artefacts tracing the history of the Royal Hall and Harrogate over the centuries.

It will also be used as an archive for students and scholars wanting to research matters of local historical interest.

The centre will feature a state-of-the-art interactive audio-visual system exploring the £10.7m restoration of the Royal Hall – which was reopened by Prince Charles in 2008 – Harrogate’s spa heritage, and the eminent performers and musicians including the Beatles and Elgar who have performed at the venue.

The announcement comes as a 12-month deal is finalised by Harrogate Borough Council to hand over the running of the Royal Hall to Harrogate Theatre, with a new programme of at least 60 artistic and cultural events planned set to transform the venue which has suffered from a major decline in visitor numbers in recent years..

Civic leaders have hailed the new heritage centre – which is being paid for through a £45,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and a £10,000 grant from Masons of the Province of Yorkshire West Riding – as a major boost for the district’s vital tourism trade as well as providing a valuable resource for local schools, colleges and universities, national historical societies and other community groups.

Fiona Spiers, head of the HLF for Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “This project will mean that one of the most beautifully restored buildings in Yorkshire will be brought alive with the introduction of new and exciting historic interpretation aimed to capture the imagination of people of all ages.”

The chairman of the Royal Hall Restoration Trust, Russell Davidson, said the scheme will be completed in early May.

“Once this project is complete, the Trust will continue working with the council to implement further developments such as additional dressing rooms and acoustic improvements to the stage area,” he added.

A planning application is also set to be approved today by Harrogate Borough Council from the Royal Hall Restoration Trust to build a VIP dressing room and new stained glass windows to replace those installed after bombing during the Second World War

The bid to breath new life into the Royal Hall – which opened in 1903 as the Kursaal but was renamed following a wave of anti-German sentiment after the First World War – has been heralded as the biggest shift in the Harrogate district’s arts world in the last 50 years

The venue staged just 57 events during 2010-11 – only eight of which were commercial

Before the decision to transfer the running of it to Harrogate Theatre, it has been costing around £1,000 a day.

Coun Don Mackenzie, leader of Harrogate Borough Council, said: “The district is indebted to the Heritage Lottery Fund for all it has done to help with the magnificent restoration of the Royal Hall.

“This recent grant of £45,000 is in addition to the £6m given to support the restoration scheme at its outset.

“I acknowledge too the priceless contribution of the Royal Hall Restoration Trust, which continues to drive forward efforts to enhance the Royal Hall for the benefit of the local community. Both sides have worked closely together on this project, and the success is there for everyone to see.”

The deal to take over the Royal Hall, which comes at a cost of £200,000 to the taxpayer, will not be sustainable in its present form beyond 12 months.

Council chiefs have told the Yorkshire Post they are already in talks to secure its future beyond 2013.