Town Hall Transformation

The new Midsomer Norton Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) has opened up new hope for the Town Hall Transformation which aims to improve the building for community use. The successful HAZ bid to Heritage England includes budget allocation to support reinstating the original Market Hall.Midsomer Norton Market Hall, as the Town Hall was originally known, opened on 18th September 1860 when 4000 people attended the opening. Last September marked its 160th anniversary. At that time in the 1860’s Midsomer Norton was being transformed by a massive building programme believed to be inspired by Thomas Harris Smith, local

brewer and entrepreneur. As well as the Town Hall, TSB (Bank House), the Grehound/NatWest and the original Smith’s Brewery (where Weatherspoon’s/Fat Sams is) were all under construction along with the Methodist Church.If you look closely at the Town Hall it’s a beautiful building. Constructed largely in local stone in the Italian Gothic style at an original cost of £1,500, it was used at first as a market hall; corn and cattle markets being held on the first Tuesday in each month and a Cattle Fair annually on April 25th. The hall was also used for musical entertainments and public meetings. It only became the Town Hall when the Midsomer Norton Urban District Council bought it in the early 1900s.For over 40 years the Sarah Ann Trust looked after the building. Today the Town Hall is managed by the Midsomer Norton Community Trust and the Town Council rents an office in the building, acting as an anchor tenant.Although the Community Trust has done much to update the building, 160 years of numerous alterations have produced a community building which is a challenge to operate generally and more specifically makes it ‘hungry’ in terms of volunteer time and resource. There are multiple entrances, a lack of storage space, an excessive amount of corridors and multiple staircases which do not all lead to all levels and it is not energy efficient. The historic building is not presented at its best.

The planned changes to the Town Hall, termed the ‘Transformation Project’ have always been a community led project dating back to the Sarah Ann Trust. The plans are to build a four-story extension to the rear of the building to house offices (Town Trust, Community Trust and Town Council, catering facilities, meeting and storage rooms and an archive for the Town Trust as well as a new fire escape/staircase to all levels and new toilet facilities.) Within the existing building core there would also be a new reception, new staircase to all levels and ticket office. With all the offices, storage and meeting rooms effectively catered for in the extension it will then be possible to reinstate the original 1860s Market Hall on the ground floor. Whilst the Assembly Room, which seats around 120 people, would remain largely untouched it would benefit from new

toilets, bar, access staircase, removal of the internal lobby and unsightly internal and external fire escapes.

A huge amount of work has gone into preparing plans to transform The Town Hall over the last 14 years. As well as volunteer time, a grant from the central government enabled the Town Council to successfully secure planning consents in July 2015. These existing Planning Permission and Listed Building Consents for the Town Hall extension are due for renewal this year.

Recent funding from the Heritage Action Zone project is available to support elements of the transformation of the Town Hall, along with the development of a market place in The Island to create a wonderful, large cohesive space for indoor and outdoor markets and events. A place for the residents of Midsomer Norton to be proud of, and to bring visitors to our historic High Street.