Welshpool Town Hall regeneration will cost millions

The ambitious project to transform Welshpool Town Hall and make it a building “fit for the 21st century” will be a multi-million project that could take many years to implement.

The iconic 19th century building has been haemorrhaging Welshpool tax payer money for years, and the increased energy costs have pushed its running costs even higher over the past two years.

There were even calls by one councillor to close it last year, but the Town Council has obtained grants to cover the cost of hiring a consultant and an architect to reach out to the public and ask for their input into making it a building that will be used for generations to come.

But at last night’s Strategy, Policy and Development Committee meeting of the Town Council, there was a sobering update delivered by the committee Chair, Cllr Alison Davies, about its potential cost and timeline.

“The amount of money that will be needed was discussed (with the architect) before Covid when the prices for building materials were much lower. It was then looking at over £3m to do this building properly,” said Cllr Davies.

“So this is not a short-term project. This is transformational, but it’s huge. And it won’t be one funder, it’s going to be really big and it’s not going to happen in an 18-month project. There is so much to do. Let’s all hope we live long enough to see it!”

A period of public consultation attracted more than 450 responses and a report with initial designs are expected at some point in early 2024, but councillors agreed that time should be taken to get it right.

They also agreed that while its completion could take years, it was important to show progress with some “quick wins” as the development takes shape in order to garner public support.

Cllr Richard Church said: “At the moment the building is completely underused. I hope that what comes out of this consultation is how the building is going to be used as that will inform. If we get that right then it will inspire the people that this building is going to be better used for the people of Welshpool.”

Councillors will be updated on the project’s progress in the New Year, but it is expected that once concrete plans are in place, grants will be applied for to carry out all of the work.