A £2.4 million revamp of Royton Town Hall and library takes a big step forward this week. Royton Labour promised to invest in the Town Hall and bring it up to date as a community hub for the town and this promise has been kept. Work started last year to repair the clock and clock tower and now major building work is starting with demolition of the extensions at the back of the Town Hall and Library.
Building work will take about a year and as well as installing a lift to the first floor of the Town Hall, internal improvements to electric and other services are planned. The buildings will be stripped back to show and preserve as much as possible of the original decoration and features and restore to their former glory. Not all of the work will be visible from outside and the exact timescale depends on what is found as work is done.
The library has moved to the Trinity Methodists on Radcliffe Street while the work is being done and will return to the historic Carnegie Building when everything is finished. The library will be a much more flexible space while still offering traditional services and a home for popular groups like ‘Knit and Natter’.
Councillor Marie Bashforth said ‘I am really pleased that the final plans mean that the library will stay in its historic home and that the Town Hall will finally be fully accessible. The delays caused by the pandemic mean we can deliver a better scheme. We have kept
The Royton Historical Society up to date as things have changed and I’m happy to say we have been able to reassure them we want to show off as much as possible of the original buildings’.
Councillor Hannah Roberts added ‘I have delivered hundreds of leaflets promising work on the library and Town Hall and it is great to see our promises kept. I was keen to ensure that Royton’s library service continues despite the work and we are grateful the Trinity
Methodists have been able to offer a home.’
