Construction hoardings at the Victoria Theatre, Halifax, have now been removed, revealing how work is progressing to transform future visits to the venue.
The Victoria Theatre is an impressive Grade II listed building in Halifax town centre, and one of the top live performing arts venues in the region. Funding from the Government’s Future High Streets Fund is being used to update and enhance the building, improving the experience for those visiting and ensuring that more people can enjoy all that the theatre has to offer.
Work has been taking place to support improved access to theatre facilities, with the latest milestones including the installation of three new lifts.
A new passenger lift between the box office and circle level, along with a stairlift at circle level, will take visitors with access requirements to the Circle Bar for the first time in the venue’s history.
The Circle Bar serves as a smaller event space for the venue, so these new lifts will mean that people with limited mobility can enjoy the theatre’s small-scale events programmes, including the monthly Dick & Liddy’s Comedy Club and the theatre’s alternative grassroots music programme Antidote.
A platform lift will also support access between the foyer and stalls level, enabling those with access requirements to enter the building through the main doors. A new catering lift has also been built in preparation for the future introduction of food in the new café/bar space.
Two new accessible toilets have also been installed, which will provide additional facilities for those with access needs.
Structural alterations on the ground floor are enabling spaces to be used more efficiently, creating larger public areas and improving routes around the building. These changes have included joining the foyer area to the former box office and the vacant former Shoesmiths/newsagents unit.
Work has also been progressing on the new box office on Commercial Street, which will be able to have independent opening hours. The previous box office area and part of the foyer is set to become a new café/bar which will provide new food and drink opportunities and could hold small performances.
The preservation of the building’s heritage has been key throughout the works. The new doors, which are being added to the refurbished areas, have been carefully chosen to ensure they are complementary to the existing historical doors in the foyer.
The new colour scheme has been informed by a paint sampling exercise, and better reflects the original colour palette. This will be used during future redecoration of the theatre further enhancing the heritage features of the building.
As construction work nears completion, the focus will soon shift to preparing the areas for use, ensuring facilities and the necessary infrastructure is in place to open the new areas safely and successfully. This work is currently on schedule to be finished by the end of the year.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Services and Communities, Cllr Danielle Durrans, said:
“Ensuring that everyone can actively participate, contribute, and revel in cultural experiences is part of our vision for our Year of Culture and its continued legacy.
“As one of Calderdale’s key cultural venues, it’s important that the Victoria Theatre in Halifax is accessible to all, and that everyone can enjoy all that it has to offer.
“We’re entering the final stages of construction work, but there’s still lots of work to be done. Once building work is finished, the theatre teams will be working hard behind the scenes to ensure the new layout and facilities, such as the new box office, are ready for people to use.
“Whist work is underway, we’ve also taken the opportunity to update other areas of the theatre and we’ve supported the refurbishment of the stalls bar, to modernise the décor, and there is also an ongoing programme of improvement and modernisation to equip the venue for a digital future.”
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Transport, Cllr Sarah Courtney, said:
“Work at the Victoria Theatre continues to progress well and with the installation of new lifts, we’re ensuring that the venue can be enjoyed by everyone.
“Transforming a Victorian building to modern standards, whilst respecting its important heritage, has been a challenge, especially as the theatre has remained open throughout the building works. However, I’m pleased that we’re now approaching the final stages of this exciting project and look forward to enjoying the new facilities on a visit to the transformed theatre, very soon.”
The significant work at the Victoria Theatre is part of an £11.7million package of Future High Streets funding being used to deliver ambitious regeneration work in Halifax town centre.
For more information about the Halifax Future High Streets Fund works, including work at the Victoria Theatre, visit Halifax Future High Streets | Calderdale Next Chapter(external link).ENDS