Work Continues at Lowestoft Town Hall - Barnes Construction

Work to bring the iconic Town Hall in Lowestoft back to community use continues apace with several conservation milestones reached.

At the start of June, the historic stained-glass window in the Council Chamber were removed and package up for conservation work. This work is being undertaken by stained glass conservationists Auravisions Ltd who will restore the stained glass to its former glory. The stained-glass windows are expected to be returned in the summer. Meanwhile, their window frames in the Council Chamber will be fully restored.

Elsewhere, the weathervane was returned to the Town Hall following a full repair by Felixstowe-based Haward Horological, who are also refurbishing the clock dials. Whilst in recent years only the finial remained, the restoration work has seen the complete weathervane return to its position on top of the clock tower.

The project is also funding the conservation of the Town Collection. This work is currently focused on repairs to the frames of some of the oil paintings in the collection, which specialists Butler and Castell from Reepham are undertaking. Included is a George Burwood oil painting depicting LT1026 Viola among other ships, which was carefully packaged by Town Hall Project volunteers. When the Town Hall reopens, these will be displayed in pride of place on the civic stair leading up to the Council Chamber.

Along with fellow councillors, the Town Hall Project team and local heritage group members, the Mayor of Lowestoft, Cllr Nasima Begum, recently paid a visit to the site, where she was able to see first-hand the work being undertaken. Speaking about the project, she said,

“It is wonderful to hear the update about these important features of the Town Hall, including the civic art collection, being restored and to see the work in progress and talk to some of the contractors involved.  There has been a lot of progress made and it is exciting to finally see the hard work of our architects HAT Projects being brought to life by Barnes Construction and their team of local sub-contractors.”

Mark Hart, Joint Managing Director of Barnes Construction commented:

“We are thrilled to be working on the refurbishment of the Town Hall, restoring its community focus and providing significant opportunity to ensure that the civic benefits are felt widely and deeply. We are also delighted to be working with East Suffolk Council to refurbish Lowestoft Post Office, to repurpose the historical building and make creative use of its original function. It’s an exciting chapter for the future landscape of the town and we are incredibly pleased to be a part of it.”

As part of the engagement activities for the Town Hall Project, there will be several other tour opportunities for local residents to attend.  Details of these and how to register will be made known through the Town Council’s website and social media accounts.

Once completed, the Town Hall will be a major employer in the area alongside offering apprenticeship opportunities.  During the construction stage, the project is a major local employer with Barnes Construction committed to ensuring local people and sub-contractors are involved, with £4.34m committed to date to sub-contractors in the Suffolk and Norfolk area, including £910,000 going to Lowestoft-based contractors.

The Lowestoft Town Hall Project is a Lowestoft Town Council initiative supported by National Lottery players via The National Lottery Heritage Fund.  Other significant funders for the regeneration include Towns Fund and East Suffolk Council. To view a short film about the project click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCtlRMPoj9Q