The Piece Hall is a success story but it isn’t immune to the challenge of rising costs impacting the heritage sector - Nicky Chance-Thompson
This fantastic achievement is testament to the vision and support of the Civic Trust, Calderdale Council and National Lottery Heritage Fund, the hard work and dedication of The Piece Hall Trust, team, tenants and volunteers and the passion of hundreds of thousands of people from both near and far who have taken this building into their hearts. They see its value and know how vital it is, that it not only survives, but thrives to be enjoyed by future generations.
The raison d'etre for restoring this stunning grade-1 building, was to be the key catalyst for driving regeneration in Halifax and the wider Calderdale borough. The only one of its kind in the world, it has delivered on this promise with every £1 spent on The Piece Hall generating around £7.20 for the local economy and a GVA over the last seven years of £61m, despite the impact of a global pandemic.
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Hide AdThe past two weeks have seen a very different transformation, as the site has metamorphosised into one of the UK’s premier event spaces, lauded by the BBC as “the UK’s best live music venue”.


Along with our partners Cuffe & Taylor we will be hosting 34 shows from world class artists, including Sir Tom Jones, Nile Rodgers, Grace Jones and Bryan Adams; the season opens next Friday with the trailblazing Blondie. It will be our biggest and most diverse summer of live music yet.
But despite these record-breaking visitor numbers and the excitement of being joined by some true music legends, the mood is not wholly celebratory. Heritage is in trouble, and The Piece Hall is not immune from the threat.
Around the same time as The Piece Hall welcomed that landmark visitor, the finishing touches were being put to a concerning report by The Heritage Alliance on the critical impact of the ongoing cost of living crisis on our beloved heritage sites. 18 months of research and data gathering has revealed how new challenges have deepened cracks in the foundations of this sector which they say is now “facing an existential threat”.
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Hide AdThe Piece Hall has direct experience of this. While visitor numbers are up, so are running costs with consumer spend heading in the opposite direction.
Unlike most heritage destinations The Piece Hall remains free to enter, and I’m passionate it stays this way. Our courtyard is literally a breath of fresh air to many people, a beautiful oasis of calm, with stunning vistas and steeped in history. It’s vital everyone has access to this, but even popping in to spend a penny, has a cost implication of pounds.
Of course all sectors are feeling economic pressures, but maintaining heritage is far from cheap with extra challenges, from changing workforce demographics, intractable energy costs and increasing repair prices all making sites especially vulnerable. And as The Alliance highlights, if heritage is not looked after it declines rapidly – and once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.
What if that had happened to The Piece Hall? How would Halifax be fairing without the regeneration?
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Hide AdThose 15 million visitors have done more than just support The Piece Hall. The sustained footfall has helped create a strong High Street including the continued presence of Marks & Spencer, as many other towns and cities have lost theirs. This in turn provides business rates to the local council. During the gig season, hotels bars and restaurants are fully booked, with many businesses seeing record takings during these busy periods. On top of this there is the renewed sense of civic pride, which the preservation of this stunning heritage site has fostered, the town has its swagger back.
The heritage sector is resilient and resourceful and works hard to support itself; The Piece Hall, with its diverse business model of retail, arts, community, charity, donations and now a world class concert series, is a perfect example. But with margins significantly reducing everywhere and costs spiralling, the books are increasingly challenging to balance.
I’ve asked how Halifax would fare without The Piece Hall, but how would we fare without heritage and culture, the balm to life which makes such a significant contribution to the economy? Our cultural life is at the core of who we are. A major influence on where we choose to live, work and play, it is the reason communities thrive and its absence can cause decline.
When times are tough it’s easy to see these things as nice to haves, but I believe they are a need to have, and that heritage and culture can create health and wealth.
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Hide AdAs we continue to navigate our economy post-pandemic, I urge the government to heed the warnings from The Heritage Alliance and ensure the sector is rescued and sustained.
Targeted investment is essential to help stimulate growth and unleash the social good that heritage and culture have the power to provide, ensuring millions more people get to experience and enjoy places like the Piece Hall for centuries to come.
In two months’ time, right in the middle of our summer season, the UK heads to the ballot box for the general election.
I hope whoever inherits the role as custodian of this most precious sector will heed the words of Dr Ingrid Samuel OBE, chair of the Heritage Alliance, and see how vital heritage is to our future: “Heritage is not just ‘old things’, or all about the past. The choices we make today are about what we want to carry forward into a tomorrow we want to see.”
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Hide AdNicky Chance-Thompson is the chief executive of the Piece Hall Trust.
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This summer, the Yorkshire Post is teaming up with TK Maxx presents Live at The Piece Hall in Halifax to give away two tickets to every show from their incredible summer series - from Blondie in June to Cian Ducrot in August and every act in between.
Digital subscribers to the Yorkshire Post now have the chance to enter a competition to win tickets to the first batch of artists.
To enter and for more, visit here: https://landing.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sound-of-summer
For all of our subscription offers, visit:
This offer is in partnership with TK Maxx presents Live at The Piece Hall and Cuffe & Taylor.
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