News / Colston Hall
Double celebration for Colston Hall
Bristol City Council have agreed to underwrite the £48.8m renovation of the Colston Hall.
Despite no longer being responsible for its running, the council still own the building, with cabinet members on Tuesday agreeing “to meet our landlord responsibilities, improve cultural infrastructure to secure long term social and economic benefits, and save the hall for future generations”.
The decision came on the same day as it was announced that the hall has been awarded a £4.75m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, supporting the restoration of the Grade II listed Lantern building.
is needed now More than ever
The remodelling of the Lantern will include the restoration of the glazed Victorian roof light and the installation of a spiral staircase from the lower foyer
Work on the transformation is due to begin in June, with the foyer continuing to be used during the building works and the Colston Hall team programming shows across Bristol and Bath.
When the venue reopens in 2020, it will have a new name and is set to become the leading arts centre in the South West and one of the best in the UK.
Fundraising by Bristol Music Trust is still continuing – with music fans able to sponsor seats – with major donations so far coming from the Treasury, Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery Fund and the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership.
As part of the redevelopment, the Colston Hall’s cellars will be opened up for the first time in 100 years to create an art education centre, workspace for performing arts business enterprises and a new performance space
Despite broad cross-party support for the cabinet agreeing to underwrite the development, Marvin Rees got into a spat with Clifton Down councillor Clive Stevens after Stevens raised questions about whether there has been sufficient information and scrutiny for the mayor to give the go-ahead.
Hitting out at the Green Party councillor, Rees said: “I heard you on Radio Bristol urging caution and saying we should delay a decision until we are on top of all the information we need.
“Last full council, did you lead on passing a motion that sought to get a mass movement behind building the arena at Arena Island and getting on with it without knowing how much the arena would cost?”
Stevens told Rees that despite the information not being available, councillors still had to give the mayor their views.
From left to right: Rosa Curbishley, Bristol Music Trust (BMT) head of development; Nerys Watts of Heritage Lottery Fund; and BMT chief exec Louise Mitchell take a look at some of the Colston Hall’s archives, some of which will be on permanent display after the renovation
Earlier in the day, Nerys Watts, head of Heritage Lottery Fund South West, had praised the Colston Hall as “a landmark site in Bristol which is famous for its musical heritage”.
She added: “But it is more than just a wonderful music hall, it also the repository for records and memories that tell the wider story of the city spanning more than a century.
“Our support, thanks to National Lottery players, will help secure an exciting future for the Hall, placing it once more on the map as one of the South West’s premiere cultural venues.”
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