Preston Guild Hall’s fate continues to hang in the balance – pending final reports on the extent of the crumbly concrete in the main roof of the two venues.
And Preston City Council’s leader has implied ‘all eventualities are being explored’ in a recent interview with Blog Preston.
The city’s main venue has been mothballed since 2019 when the council took back control from previous operator – who had been sold the building for £1 by the council in 2014 – Simon Rigby and a lengthy legal battle ensued with the late Mr Rigby and then his estate.
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Once the legal wrangle was resolved it was full-steam for a re-opening before the discovery of reinforced aerated concrete (RAAC) in the roof in September 2023 (and then being confirmed a few months later) left those plans in tatters and put a large concrete roadblock in the way of the city’s cultural plans.
Cllr Matthew Brown, the city’s Labour leader, has implied they are considering demolition and re-build, or a new venue altogether, when speaking to Blog Preston although repair of the existing venue also remains on the table. He was clear he wants whatever venue the city ends up having to be council-owned still.
This appears a shift in position from the council who had previously been focused on a potential repair job but the extent of the cost is likely to be significant – additional reports ordered in May are due back soon.
Cllr Brown’s comments imply the city having a functional venue is becoming the focus as opposed to that being the Guild Hall itself.
Built in the 1970s the venue, with the Grand Hall and Charter Theatre, has a sentimental value but it is not a listed building – meaning the city council are not a hostage to fortune in the same way they have been with the Harris restoration project. Although as Blog Preston revealed last year it standing empty has been costing more than £2,000-a-day – but those costs will have changed with income from the Guild Lounge since it re-opened and began operating.
Back in December the cabinet member for arts and culture councillor Anna Hindle spoke of the potential for an ‘Arena-style’ venue which would be very much of a size and scale for attracting large acts to Lancashire and the North West, while Cllr Brown spoke of having a ‘multi-purpose venue’ for hosting conferences and other events not just live music.
Blog Preston also understands private developers have been eyeing plots in the city centre for alternative venues if the Guild Hall were to be demolished but the issue of ownership may be a stumbling block as the council’s preference is to retain ownership (as it has with the Animate scheme), and there’s been artist impressions circulating for many years now of whether the city’s Docks could be a place for a large-scale venue – although it is challenged in terms of having good public transport connections compared to the city centre.
What we do know is the city council is planning to make a decision before the organisation is likely to not exist in the years to come – as the government pushes its local government re-organisation timetable. Preston will likely become part of a larger unitary authority.
Cllr Brown declared emphatically the decision on the Guild Hall will be taken by the city council rather than being left for a new authority to pick up.
He said: “You can do things other than live music, venues can do other things. You could have conference events for example. You know we need to definitely have a venue back.
“I know we get a hard time as a Labour council over the Guild Hall and I understand people are disappointed but with what we’ve faced with austerity we have been really crippled. So the stuff we want to do it’s been really difficult. But before this council ends we need to take a decision on the Guild Hall.
“If we can get it back in its current form, we will, but sometimes these situations with the fabric of the building can be really bad and it’s more cost-effective to do something else.”
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The city council has shown – with the Animate scheme – it is willing to borrow big and invest, especially when backed by a big central government cheque in the form of the Towns Fund initiative. It is certain a venue for the city – whether an upgrade to the existing Guild Hall or something new – will need big investment from the government to offset the risks associated with such a scheme.
In the meantime, the Guild Lounge – the foyer area of the venue – was brought back into use last year and new funding is being pumped in to do ‘more original and creative’ programming in the space as the frequency of events has fizzled out during recent months after an intensive start. It is very much a make-shift venue but a funding boost is planned with a commitment of it holding events well into 2027.
And maybe that gives a nod to a timescale for what the future of the Guild Hall is.
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