Work on a “majestic” town hall is soon set to get underway with council officers close to appointing a contractor.
Multimillion pound plans to refurbish 120-year-old Westhoughton Town Hall have long been considered by the council.
Last week, cabinet member for regulatory services and property Cllr Sue Haworth told a town hall meeting she was aware of ways the people of Westhoughton had felt underserved.
She said: “Some streetlamps have been broken for over a year and we hear about that.
“CCTV at Market Street had some failure.”
“Above all you feel your majestic terracotta stone grade II listed town hall and Carnegie Hall, 1904 and 1906, are not respected in the borough.”
“I have been working with officers to understand the detail of this scheme and will be happy to provide ward members with a specific update as soon as we can.”
Westhoughton Town Hall, on Market Street, has long been the focus of plans to revive the hall itself as well as the surrounding area.
Over the last year the site has frequently been discussed at various council meetings, having been discussed at a scrutiny meeting last March.
Recent ideas have included reworking the town hall to become a base for various businesses.
A question about the town hall had been put by Cllr Arthur Price, who represents Westhoughton North and Hunger Hill, at a meeting of the council.
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He asked about whether proposals for restaurants and a café were to be included in the hall, as had been previously suggested and when the steering group was likely to meet again to discuss plans for Westhoughton Town Hall.
In response, Cllr Haworth said that she hoped to work alongside residents, businesses and other services in working towards a plan for the town hall, which would look at “commercial options.”
She said: “Work continues apace to deliver a quality capital improvement programme for Westhoughton Town Hall that the community will take pride in.”
She added: “I know that officers are close to appointing a contractor to commence the works and I will confirm to ward members when detail comes in.”
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