Partnership results in major project to renovate historic hall
A major project to refurbish an historic Telford hall and upgrade the interior is set to get under way this month thanks to support from the £2m Telford 50 legacy fund.
The project to restore the Anstice Memorial Hall in Madeley is a partnership between Telford & Wrekin Council, Madeley Town Council and the Anstice Community Trust (ACT).
The long term plan is for Madeley Library to be relocated into the Hall, two rental units inside it to be made available for commercial use, a Community Cafe opened and the front of the building being extensively repaired.
A new lift will be installed along with new disabled facilities to make the building and its famous ballroom accessible to all.
Planning applications have been submitted to enable the project to start.
The money includes £112,500 funding from the Council’s £2m Telford 50 Legacy Fund .and forms part of the £150,000 Telford & Wrekin has agreed to give to each of the borough’s five main town councils including Madeley from the Telford 50 Legacy Fund to regenerate and improve community buildings.
The remainder of the money will be used on other projects.
Work by specialist masonry contractors is expected to start on the restoration of the front porch of the building by the end of the month.
This work involves stripping off the old paint, repairing the walls and replacing the rotten flat roof. Work on the porch is expected to be completed around the end of October.
The hall will be shut at the end of December for approximately seven or eight months and contractors are expected to start on the conversion of the interior in mid January.
Madeley Library is expected to move into the Anstice Hall from September 2019 and in the meantime the rental units will be marketed to prospective tenants.
The rental units will provide valuable income towards the running the refurbished building.
Councillor Rae Evans, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for People Services, Visitor Economy and Partnerships, said: “This is a very major project to refurbish and bring back into use one of Telford’s most historic buildings and I am very much looking forward to it getting under way.
“This has come about because of a very productive and co-operative partnership between Telford & Wrekin Council, Madeley Town Council, ACT and the local community and is another great example of a legacy project to mark Telford’s 50th birthday.”
Lyndy Boden, chairman of ACT, said: “We have raised £30,000 to support this project which is an amazing achievement.
“We are absolutely delighted that things are finally getting there, it’s been a long journey but will be worth it, we can’t thank everyone enough, including local councils and the community for their support.”
The £2m Telford 50 Legacy Fund supports a mix of physical schemes as well as other projects that help tackle key social issues in the borough and reduce demand on council services.
Almost 1,400 people took part in a consultation in summer 2017 to find out what people wanted to see supported as a legacy of Telford 50.
The most popular themes included heritage and tourism, arts and culture and recreation. People were also keen to see the funding allocated to support community events and projects
