The refurbishment of Trowbridge Town Hall has been set in motion as a planning application has now been submitted.

Wiltshire Council has submitted the application and a Listed Building Consent application to refurbish and remodel the Grade II listed Town Hall in Trowbridge.

The plans could see the Town Hall becoming a major creative and community hub for Trowbridge, consisting of custom designed performance and activity spaces, recording studios, and a licenced café bar with refurbished spaces for a wide range of community activities from yoga classes to toddler groups.

Bits of the building will have to be demolished and rebuilt. Some of the roof cover will be stripped, improved and put back together, while the dormers will be removed completely. The 1970s staircase inside the building will also be removed.

On the second floor, the steps and organ pit will be removed and flat raised floor put in its place to create a technicians gallery with the void space below being utilised by services.

Seveal windows will be removed and replaced too and a new lift shaft will be constructed. 

There would be 18 new employees in the Town Hall.

In the basement and on the ground floor the walls will be repainted while on the first floor the 1970s walls will be removed.

Leader of Wiltshire Council Richard Clewer said: “If you were unable to come to the recent engagement event in which we shared the stunning visualisations of the refurbished building, don’t worry as several of the display boards have been erected in the Town Hall’s foyer.

“There will also be a further engagement event at the Town Hall on Wednesday November 16, 2.30pm to 6pm.”

Alan Wright, the Director of Trowbridge Town Hall Trust, added: “Our challenge has been to provide the community with a combination of spaces that ensures provision for as wide a variety of activities as possible within a building that retains and enhances its original ambiance, while also enabling us to ensure an economically sustainable long-term future.”

The application has been submitted to Wiltshire Council, as Local Planning Authority and is now available to view and for public comment on the Wiltshire Council website here . Enter planning application number PL/2022/08637.

The investment is being funded from the £16 million investment in Trowbridge town centre via the government’s Future High Streets Fund.

If the application is approved, work could start at the end of 2023 and be finished around April 2025.