At the Guildhall this evening there was the first of two public meetings to view, hear about, and give opinions on the re-development of the modern part of the Guildhall. There is another meeting on Saturday 20th April at 10.30am. The plans can also be viewed for the next week or so.
The architects took us through the proposals, which are still open to change. The total plan has a price ticket of £3.5M.
For that Abingdon will get a proper purpose built 100 seat cinema over the existing carpark at the back of the Guildhall for £1M.
The large Abbey Hall would be modified so that it could act as a Theatre / Cinema with raked (sloped) seating going up to the balcony. That seating could be withdrawn for the room to become a wedding / function / sport venue. That will cost £650K with improvements to the look, and lighting etc…
Then there will be works to make things connect better and be accessible and sustainable. A new foyer will be added at the front which will connect through at ground level with the entrance from Bridge Street. Lifts and replacement stairways will allow access to all parts of the old and new building in a more easy to follow way.
Some of the people involved showed off the 3d model of the project to a photographer. This is a project on which all sides agree.
After the presentation there were questions and answers.
Regarding the price ticket … The Town Council already has £1M left over from the money they were given by the District Council to take over a building that was loosing £120,000 a year. So they still have £2.5M to raise. It is anticipated with hard work £1M could be raised in grants. Leaving £1.5M to raise. If the Guildhall was better used then it would not be loosing money and £120,000 would not be lost year on year.
So the council could take out a public works loan for ten years or so, or raise the council tax to pay for the remainder up front. Another alternative would be to do some work now and some later. But that would end up costing more, and the initiative might get lost and the project never finished. For more information see the dedicated Guildhall Project website.
