Scheme for £4m revamp of town hall win approval

The project board has now given the green light for plans submitted by architects Camillin Denny.

Plans include extensive refurbishment of the outside and inside of the building and turning the basement into a caf and heritage exhibition space.

The proposal also provides for shops and meeting rooms, new toilets, new bar and lifts below an extension to the ballroom balcony.

Following an independent conservation survey the courtroom and all the important historical detail will be preserved. Finally, the caretaker's flat could be converted into a room overlooking the town for civic functions and wedding ceremonies.

The scheme is expected to cost about 4m and the project board will now be looking at funding options, including the possibility of a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund this September. Work could then start on the project in 2012.

Coun Ian Cooper, Calderdale Council's cabinet member for safer and stronger communities, said: "The plans will mean

that Todmorden at last has a town hall which can be used and enjoyed by everyone in both the local community and from elsewhere.

"It is recognised that this building is Todmorden's architectural gem and it is entirely right that we give it a chance of being used and enjoyed long into the future."

Following public talks, the Todmorden Town Hall Development Group commissioned a study into the future of the building earlier this year.

The development group, which includes local councillors and others, was set up in 2008 by Calderdale Council, with the aim of looking into a range of options.