Skipton Town Hall set to reopen on June 21st
Craven District Council has announced plans to reopen Skipton Town Hall on June 21st, 2021.
The spectacular £4.7m restoration and redevelopment of Skipton Town Hall is almost complete, transforming the historic building into a cultural hub for the 21st century.
The major building works are finished and the fit-out of Craven Museum, the Concert Hall, Information & Visitor Centre and Exhibition Gallery is well underway.
The Council has also recently been given £75,000 from the Heritage Action Zone project in order to renovate the frontage of the building, which will take place over the next few months.
The first events to take place at the venue have also been announced – including live theatre from the award-winning Quick Duck Theatre, and Essex Girl by Maria Ferguson, film screenings including Pride, Sink or Swim and Call Me By Your Name, and the ever-popular Skipton Town Hall Tea Dance.
Danielle Daglan, Cultural Services Manager at Craven District Council, said: “We are incredibly excited to be opening our doors again after the major redevelopment! It’s been a long slog and with a pandemic thrown in to contend with on top of the usual challenges of renovating an historic building, but we’re almost there now.
“We can’t wait for people to be able to see the results of all the hard work that’s been going on behind the scenes. The Museum is being completely transformed, and we’re developing an amazing programme of performances and events.
“If the Government’s roadmap goes to plan, by June 21st we should be free from lockdown restrictions, but we are taking a sensible approach to our reopening plans and incorporating a level of Covid-safety measures to help our returning and new visitors feel safe. We’re asking people to pre-book Museum and Gallery visits online, along with performance bookings. You can book performance tickets online from April 22nd, so please start planning for your return!”
The Concert Hall has been repaired and restored, and Craven Museum is being completely redesigned on the ground floor. A new Information & Visitor Centre will greet visitors, and a new Exhibition Gallery is being created upstairs.
At the back of the building, an extension has been built to house an education room, research office, museum store and additional facilities, including an accessible Changing Places Toilet, which will be available for anyone who needs it – even if they are not attending an event at the building.
Museum & Gallery free timed tickets will be available for booking online from June 1, with combined visit sessions of 75 minutes, Monday to Saturday, with cleaning scheduled between each session.
All performances will also be pre-booked and socially distanced. Hand sanitising units will be available in the building and there will be social distancing signage to encourage people to be mindful of other visitors. There will be screens in place at the front desk, and a comprehensive cleaning schedule will be in place throughout each day.
The first exhibition in the Gallery will be ‘Celebrate’ - this will mark the reopening of the building and will also be a celebration by, for and with the people of Craven, with many residents contributing to the display.
Craven District Council is investing £3million in the Town Hall project, with £1.5million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and £183,000 from the High Street Heritage Action Zone.
The Council has also previously received a £250,000 Arts Council Small Capital Grant to support the upgrade of performance infrastructure in the Concert Hall, which will allow for live streaming when the venue reopens.
To book tickets please visit www.skiptontownhall.co.uk or follow the Town Hall on social media for links to events: @SkiptonTownHall on Twitter and Facebook
