Town Hall and museum re-opening following £4.7m redevelopment
Craven District Council will reopen Skipton Town Hall – including Craven Museum, the Exhibition Gallery, Concert Hall and Visitor Information Centre – on Monday June 21 2021.
A £4.7m restoration and redevelopment of Skipton Town Hall has transformed the historic building into “a cultural hub for the 21st century.”
Craven Museum has been modernised and redesigned, with collections spanning geology, archaeology, natural history, and the social history of home and work telling the story of the Craven Dales.
The Concert Hall has been returned to its original architectural proportions, with decorative plasterwork restored and the whole space upgraded for performances and events.
There is a new gallery space upstairs, and the visitor information centre has been integrated to provide front of house services for the Museum, Gallery and Concert Hall.
Craven District Council has invested £3m in the Town Hall project, with £1.5m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and £183,000 from the High Street Heritage Action Zone.
Councillor Simon Myers, lead member for Enterprising Craven at Craven District Council, said: “We are delighted to be opening the doors of Skipton Town Hall to visitors once again, following this major redevelopment.
“I’d like to thank all staff and members for all their hard work and support in transforming this historic building.
“The new Craven Museum is absolutely incredible. It tells the story of our district in a completely new way, with interactive displays and a huge range of fascinating objects and information. We can’t wait for people to come in and see what has been achieved.
“There is also an exciting programme of events due to take place in the Concert Hall. These have all been planned with Covid safety measures in place.”
The council has 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.
It has also previously received a £250,000 Arts Council Capital Grant to support the upgrade of performance infrastructure in the Concert Hall, which will allow for live streaming.
