The Piece Hall, a Georgian building at the heart of Halifax, is to undergo a major renovation. As a result Calderdale Council has now closed the building to public access in order to allow work to create a new visitors’ centre and overall refurbishment to go ahead. The repair and conservation should take two years and cost a total of £19 million.
The Grade I listed building first opened in 1779 for the trading of ‘pieces ‘of hand-woven cloth and was crucial to the Yorkshire textile industry until the early nineteenth century.
When industrialisation and the import of cotton ended the demand for hand-woven cloth the building was used for a variety of purposes throughout the Victorian era and beyond.
In 1927 the remarkable building was scheduled as an Ancient Monument, despite which, it narrowly escaped demolition in the early 1970s, surviving by just a single vote.
Subsequently it has served as a retail and leisure destination containing a range of shops, an art gallery, a museum and a courtyard market.
Yet as a result of the renovations now taking place, some shops within the property have relocated or closed entirely – this may seem like bad news, but as many shop owners relocated to the nearby high street it has had a positive impact upon Halifax’s shop vacancy rates.
Councillor Tim Swift, leader of Calderdale Council, voiced his hope that the refurbishment programme would allow Piece Hall to become “a wold class heritage destination.”
He continued; “We’re heading into an exciting new chapter for the Piece Hall.
“And I’m really looking forward to seeing it reopen in spring 2016, with its state of the art interpretation and learning centre, shops and businesses and beautiful courtyard.”
The majority of the £19 million cost has been funded by Calderdale Council, which agreed to invest £10 million into the project when plans for the building were finalised. A grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund supplied another £7 million, leaving just £2 million to be contributed from various fundraising campaigns which will take place over the next year.
Piece Hall will take a central role in Halifax’s new “cultural quarter”, with a new central library and arts centre also on the cards. With tourism becoming ever more vital to regional economies throughout the UK, perhaps this project will be the boost the town needs to boost the local economy.
Do you think more towns could use a “cultural quarter” to lift tourism revenues, and if so, what other types of attractions would you like to see included in designs?
