Another £700,000 to be spent on Hartlepool Town Hall Theatre just weeks after venue reopens

The Town Hall Theatre, in Raby Road, recently reopened after closing in March to enable Hartlepool Borough Council to carry out “essential” inspections and repairs to old fibrous plasterwork ceilings.

Local authority bosses at the time said the decision to shut the site, along with the part closure of the Borough Hall, on the Headland, was “the only option” as “we must prioritise the health and safety of everyone using these venues”.

A report to the latest full council meeting noted following the required assessments and remedial repairs it has been identified further works are needed at the Town Hall Theatre over the next 12 months.

The money to be funded from a £3million pot earmarked for a scheme at the Borough Hall as part of the local authority’s capital programme.

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Labour councillor and council leader Brenda Harrison said the work would support “the safe and successful reopening of this important culture venue”.

She added: “As part of reopening plans it has been identified that further maintenance and improvement works at the Town Hall Theatre are needed desperately over the next 12 months.”

The reallocation of funds to allow the work to take place was approved with 28 councillors voting in favour and one abstaining.

The exact nature of the work has still to be disclosed.

The Town Hall Theatre reopened with Looking For Me Friend: the Music of Victoria Wood on Tuesday, September 17, which was followed by Hartlepool’s Hot Potato Comedy Club returning to the venue on Saturday, September 28.