Landmark Worden Hall refurbishment – your chance to speak with the development team ahead of works
Work to refurbish Worden Hall, the centrepiece of the iconic Green Flag Award winning Worden Park, will begin on Monday 16 August – and South Ribble Borough Council want to give you the chance to have to see the development plans and to have your questions answered.
Come along to a drop-in event at the Worden Hall courtyard (next to the Folly Coffee House and Café temporary unit) on Thursday 12 August between 4pm and 6pm.
Members from the Council’s project team, the development team and site architects will be on hand to go through the plans and to answer any questions you may have.
After being unused for more than seven years – resulting in the space being in a state of disrepair – the exciting, ground-breaking project will see a raft of refurbishment works to the site which will transform the Hall into a flexible community and event space.
The works beginning on Monday 16 August will include refurbishment of:
- The café and adjacent store – the café will be relocated within the site, with the original space transformed into a licenced bar and kitchen.
- The foyer – which will be upgraded as a modern, inviting entrance to the new facility.
- The Marsden Room – which will become a flexible space with a 200-person maximum capacity allowing for events such as weddings.
- The Courtyard Hall – which will see the demolition of the conservatory and opened into a flexible covered outdoor function space.
- The first-floor rooms – which will become flexible community events and meeting spaces.
- The surrounding landscape – which will include new paving, benches and planted boarders and an extension to the car park.
These plans were put forward following an extensive consultation – one of the biggest the Council has undertaken – asking people across the borough and beyond about their thoughts on the proposals for the future of the historic centrepiece of Worden Park.
Councillor Matthew Tomlinson, Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Assets, said: “Next Monday will mark the start of a brand-new era for Worden Hall. After years of neglect and the iconic space falling into disrepair, we are now finally starting the journey to bring this incredible building back to life.
“We know how incredibly important Worden Hall is to the people of South Ribble, which is why we want people to have the opportunity to talk with our development teams about the new-look site and what they can expect.
“I’d encourage everyone to come along between 4pm and 6pm on the 12 August.”
Initial work will involve the contractor setting up a works compound and ensuring the construction site is secure, ready for clearance and demolition.
Impact on the use of the park will be at an absolute minimum, however there may be some footpaths which will be out of use for the period of works. All information will be clearly stated in signage across the site.
All users of the park are asked to take care near the site area and to be particularly mindful of additional site traffic which may come through the park from time to time.
Councillor Paul Foster, Leader of South Ribble Borough Council, said: “I’m so excited to see this project begin. Once completed we’re going to have an incredible community use and function venue right in the heart of the incredible Worden Park.
“The historic Hall is set for a radical change and with that some disruption may be caused. Please be reassured that we want the user experience of the park during the works to be unchanged as much as we can allow, and we will aim to keep any disruption to an absolute minimum.
“As always, we will keep residents up to date with everything that is going on, so please keep following us on social media and check our website for updates.”
People can find out more about the project and see a video walkthrough of the current building at www.southribble.gov.uk/wordenpark
Updates will also be shared regularly on the council’s social media channels: @mysouthribble on Facebook and @southribblebc on Twitter.