In September 2000,
Harrogate Borough Council embarked on a Development Study
to provide a detailed restoration plan for the Royal Hall.
The £800,000 cost of the Study was jointly met by the
Heritage Lottery Fund and the Council.
In September 2003, the results of the Study
were submitted to HLF for grant approval. Unfortunately,
the full restoration project was costed at £13.7 million
whereas there was only £8 million immediately available
- £6 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £2
million matching funds from the Council.
In July 2004, the Council’s project
management team embarked on a second, supplemental study
to determine exactly what was achievable within the available
funding. After a three month study, the team recommended
that a phased programme could be achieved with an initial
phase costing £8 million . This phase would carry out
the necessary structural repairs; enable public access and
usage, and provide a basis for future restoration work as
and when further funds became available. A major requirement
was that the work should be undertaken in such a way as to
contain the risk and possibility of the contract costs over-running.
Following the appointment of the main contractor (HBG Construction Ltd) in October 2005, restoration work started in June 2006 to carry out the core building works. This was a 61 week contract which is due to be completed on 27th June 2007. However, the success of the Trust’s fund-raising campaign meant that additional works could be reinstated and the contract end-date was put back to 28th January 2008. This programme is currently on budget and on time. Following a ten week period for fitting-out and commissioning, the Royal Hall is due to re-open on 27th April 2008.
The Trust's initial target was to raise £1.8 million so that the following works could be included in the restoration:
| Authentic period re-decoration of the auditorium and circulation areas |
£1.4 million |
| Refurbished of the green and dressing rooms |
£50,000 |
| New soft architecture and furnishings |
£150,000 |
| New period bar and associated construction works |
£200,000 |
| Total |
£1,800,000 |
In the event, the Trust had managed to raise £2.5 million by the end of July 2007 and this additional funding enabled works to be undertaken that will allow the Upper Balcony, with its 300 extra seats, to be brought back into use.
Details of the project management team and key players are
shown here.
More details of the core programme are available “Preferred
Strategy: Key Characteristics”.
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