Repair bill for 14th Century Halls hits £7.8m

Plans to spend a further £920,000 on a multi-million pound project to repair and refurbish a Grade I listed building have been backed by councillors.

The Halls in Norwich – comprising St Andrews and Blackfriars Halls – closed at the beginning of 2023 to allow £6.9m of work to take place.

The hall needed structural repairs to its roof and windows, with other work taking place to improve the site as an arts venue – including new audio visual equipment and lighting.

But a survey of the 14th Century building found that more would need to be spent by Norwich City Council for further repairs on the roof and to carry out electrical upgrades.

It showed that moisture had built up in the roof's timber structure after plastic sheeting was installed approximately 80 to 100 years ago.

A report for the Labour-run council's cabinet warned that if the work did not take place, deterioration of the timbers would "only get worse over time".

The Halls, a former Dominican priory and convent, date back to the 14th Century and are among the so-called Norwich 12, a list of buildings of historical importance in the city spanning 1,000 years, created by the Norwich Heritage Economic & Regeneration Trust.

Cabinet members voted in favour of spending £920,000 on the work, and if their decision is supported by the full council, the total bill for The Halls will be more than £7.8m.

Just under half of the cost is being covered by the authority, which received £3.6m of Town Deal funding from the government and £500,000 from Arts Council England to pay for work on the building.

The council-owned venue – which can hold about 1,000 people - was due to reopen in April.

But councillor Claire Kidman said the additional repairs meant that it was now likely to reopen later in the year.

"Once open, the newly refurbished Halls will be one of the most iconic venues in East England and further bolster the city's status as one of Europe's most go-to historic and cultural destinations," she added.

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