New look Farnworth Town Hall - open for business

BRIGHT, airy and ready to serve the community — Farnworth Town Hall has finally been restored with £1.3million make-over.

It was never as grand as Westminster or St Paul’s but it is safe to say, the historic building has been restored to its former glory.

Gone are the broken windows, the dust and neglected relics.

Instead the building is now home to new offices surrounding by markers of Farnworth’s history.

The huge stained glass windows at the top of the stone staircase has been restored, as has the main stairway and former council chamber.

Original features such as a war memorial plaque and more stained glass windows saved from Farnworth Grammar School have also been incorporated into the refurbishment.

Council staff and councillors were given their first tour of the new look town hall on Thursday.

Cllr Asif Ibrahim said the building was a triumph mixing the “old with the new”.

Cllr Ibrahim added: “I think the building looks fantastic.

“Not only does it look good aesthetically but it is now serves a function for the council and the community.”

The work is part of the council’s review of the way it delivers services.

This includes making better use of the buildings to be retained, and providing better working environments for staff.

In move to save £1 million per year, the council will refurbish historic buildings such as the town halls in Bolton and Farnworth and sell others.

A council spokesman said: “The investment in Farnworth Town Hall means that the council can preserve and maintain this historic building for years to come and that it can also make very good use of the office space inside to accommodate key council services.

“More council staff will now also be based in Farnworth, which should have a positive impact on the town centre economy.”

The building is more open plan to accommodate about 150 staff from the councils adult and children’s services.

As well as the restoration work on original features, secondary glazing and insulation has been installed to drive down energy bills.

The main entrances have moved to the side to improve disable access.

But it has been a rocky road to restoration after work was halted in July when building firm Blakeley Tonge and Partner went into administration.

There were further set backs when vandals smashed 16 of the back windows in April.

Cllr Noel Spencer said: “There’s no doubt about it, this refurbishment has been a long time coming. But it’s fantastic to see this historical building being put back to use. The stained glass windows from the grammar school look fantastic.”

The wooden panels in the old council chamber have been restored to maintain some of the heraldry from its original civic function.

Farnworth councillors will also hold their monthly surgeries in the building.

Leader of the Council, Cllr Cliff Morris, said: “The building really does look great and by keeping staff in Farnworth it can only be a boost for trade and other services in the town.”

History of Farnworth Town Hall Farnworth Town Hall has been a focal point of the community and a hub of local democracy for more than a century.

- Designed by Farnworth Council engineer W J Lomas, the Grade II-listed hall was built by T E Coope for £10,000 and opened in 1909 after a grand civic ceremony. For the previous 43 years, 22 council representatives had to squeeze into a room in Darley Street measuring 14ft by 30ft for their monthly meetings.

- The town hall housed most of Farnworth Council’s staff and provided the town’s 18 local elected representatives with a council chamber, committee rooms and a mayor’s parlour.

- The building staged council meetings until the mid 1980s when decision-making powers were transferred to Bolton. It has since been used for community meetings and for Citizens Advice Bureau drop-in sessions. .

- Farnworth Town Hall was the location for one of Bolton’s most shocking murders when security guard Ian Foster was brutally gunned down on the front steps in 1992.