HAWCE Site Visit to Kidderminster Town Hall

At HAWCE we love a site visit and we are delighted that our first one for the year is to this fascinating heritage project where Speller Metcalfe are restoring, upgrading and developing the Grade II Listed Kidderminster Town Hall.

Practicalities:

• Parking in Weavers Walk or Bromsgrove Street pay and display car parks:
  • Weaver’s Wharf, Kidderminster. SatNav postcode: DY10 1AA
  • Bromgsrove Street – DY10, Bromsgrove St, Kidderminster DY10 1PD
• Alternatively the Town Hall is a short walk from the train station
• PPE not needed as the project will be in the finishing stages of the build.
• Congregate at site pedestrian entrance https://w3w.co/flute.career.torch at 4:30pm (will intend to start tour at 5pm)
• Length of tour : about 1 hour including presentation
• Refreshments: tea and coffee will be provided

Further details of visit:

Managing director Adrian Speller will do a welcome behalf of Speller Metcalfe, and then Richard Clarke (Contract Manager) will do a presentation on the project.  Thereafter the tour should then take around 45minutes.

Speller Metcalfe have also arranged for the town hall to do a display in the music hall with all of the historic photos as well so things to look at.

Details of project:

Speller Metcalfe has been tasked with restoring, upgrading and developing the Grade II Listed Kidderminster Town Hall.

In the music hall, the historic ceiling is being restored alongside refurbishment of the floor, and the stage brought up to modern performance standards alongside sound and lighting upgrades. The Town Hall has also secured funding to have the rare organ pipework professionally cleaned. The redevelopment will see a complete refurbishment of the café area, transforming it into an indoor/outdoor space which can be further divided into separate areas for group entertainment.

Throughout the building there will also be upgrades to the mechanical and electrical services, installation of a new lift, improved disabled entrances and refurbishment of ground floor toilet areas. The King Charles suite roof is also being restored with improvements in insulation features to make the room more energy efficient and welcoming.

Finally, the project team will be restoring and cleaning the heritage features outside of the Town Hall to ensure they continue to stand the test of time.

The redevelopment of one of Kidderminster’s most historic landmarks is being delivered by Kidderminster Town Council, who own the building, in partnership with Wyre Forest District Council and North Worcestershire Economic Development and Regeneration (NWedR).

This is one of three major projects being funded through the Government’s Levelling Up Fund. The second project is to bring back into use an empty listed heritage building in the heart of town, and thirdly to create a new walking and cycle pathway along the canal towpath in partnership with Worcestershire County Council – linking the heritage and natural assets with Kidderminster town centre (now complete).

The project is due to complete in Spring 2025 and has been procured through the Constructing West Midlands framework.