Refurbishment work started on the Town Hall back in September 2007 and now the works are coming to a conclusion. Pretty much all of the demolition and structural works are now complete, with just the conversion of the old offices and Tourist Information Centre into a cafe and the old ground floor loos into an exhibition space remaining to complete. Then we can put away the sledgehammers and bring out the plaster, paint and brushes!
The journey so far hasn't been without its surprises and worries. Discovering damp earth and broken stones beneath most of the ground floors and the absence of any real structural integrity in many of the building's walls have presented numerous building challenges to our contractors and quite a few financial ones to us too!
But work is progressing well and we intend re-opening the building in late April or early May.
So, just what will you see when you first walk in, well you won't recognise the ground floor, it will have been totally transformed into a much more cohesive and open space, with two entrances facing the Cross Hayes Car Park, the traditional civic entrance to the right of the building will have been restored to become the new entrance to the Town Hall offices, Tourist Information Centre and Athelstan Museum. The left hand entrance will remain as the community entrance to the building,. providing direct access to the cafe, public toilets, gallery and first floor community spaces.
As you walk through the community entrance, look up and you'll be able to see right up to the roof and beyond, thanks to a fabulous double height entrance and skylight that floods the entire ground floor entrance and first floor gallery space with natural daylight - on a sunny day!
Look straight ahead and you'll be able to see the glass balustrades of a new staircase that provides direct access to the first floor balcony and all the community rooms beyond. Look beyond the staircase and you'll see our new exhibition space housing what we plan to become a rotating exhibition of art, sculpture and corporate displays. Look right and you'll see the Tourist Information Centre and Athelstan Museum. Look left and you'll be welcomed into a warm and welcoming cafe.
So what other changes will we see? Well, beyond the exhibition space and directly behind Athelstan Museum will be the new public toilets, open whenever the Town Hall, Museum or cafe are open. And there'll be new loos on the first floor too - so no more running downstairs and getting lost in the old "rabbit warren" between performances! The kitchen on the first floor will also be refurbished and re-equipped as necessary to ensure the highest standards of hygiene are attained.
There will also be a new opening from the Council Chamber directly out onto the space in front of the Hobbes Room and bar. Behind the Hobbes Room Bar will be a new store room and fire escape leading straight out of the building and into the car park. The bar will be better equipped with a glass washer and sink to hopefuly make life easier for groups using the space.
And of course, there will be a new lift. It will run in the old lift shaft, but it will use totally new running gear, will be quicker, smoother, quieter and far far more reliable than our old lift. To allow wider access, the doors, rather than slide open sideways, will be replaced with a single hinged door that you will open outwards, allowing the widest possible access into and out of the lift car.
There will also be a new boiler installed providing heat to the entire building. We will also be installing recorded CCTV within the building to improve overall building security and to deter vandalism.
But the refurbishment project won't end there. OK, so the money will have run out, but we won't stop until we have refurbished the entire building to a standard that we feel you deserve. We want to redecorate the Market Room and make it much more attractive for the Cross Hayes Pre-school and other users of that space. We want to refit and re-equp the kitchen adjacent to the Market Room so that it meets food hygeine standards.
We also want to re-decorate the Oxford Room, provide it with new curtains, fix the window masonary, replaster shot plasterwork, install new radiators and new lights.
We want to re-decorate the Hobbes Room too, and extend the stage forward by approximately 5 feet so that it can accommodate a stage lift, providing disabled access to the stage and back-stage area. We'd also like to rig permanent stage lighting, sound amplification and install a hearing induction loop to aid those with hearing difficulties. Back stage, we'd like to provide a stairway down to the first floor gallery, allowing performers to come and go, rather than wait backstage or enter the stage from the front of house.
But this wish list will take yet more money, around another £150,000 to £200,000, and we really don't want to ask the precept payers of Malmesbury to give us any more than they are already doing. So we are actively seeking sponsors and donors to help us complete these final tasks.
We are also looking for equipment that would be useful to community users of the Town Hall and would ask businesses to get in touch with us if they feel they could help supply or sponsor a specific piece of equipment, such as a chiller for the bar, or hand driers for the toilets or new urns for the kitchens. Even paint and plaster for the walls would be helpful.
Maybe you are a plumber, an electrician, a plasterer, a painter or a carpenter or a proficient DIYer? We could really use your help in the final push to add those finishing touches to our community rooms that will help cmplete the entire project.
If you can help us in any way, please get in touch, our Town Clerk would love to hear from you, or you can call the Project Board Chairman direct on 01666 822003.
If you are interested in reviewing the atchitect's plans for the Town Hall visit www.malmesburytownhall.co.uk/background.html. Alternatively, please feel free to make an appointment to review the plans within the Town Hall.
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