Contractors are set to begin work in restoring and repurposing the historic Ashton Town Hall site, Tameside Council has confirmed. 

Over the next few weeks, residents will see construction vehicles, equipment and workers on site as enabling works get under way on the next phase of the process using funds from the £20 million Levelling Up Funding (LUF) for Ashton town centre.

The council say the town hall is "an important part of the plans" and £3.4 million of the LUF awarded in October last year has been earmarked for it. 

The remaining funds will be used for remediation work for the redevelopment of the former Interchange site and improvement to the public realm including walking and cycling routes. 

The town hall has been closed since 2015 and much of the preparation work carried out to date has not been visible to the public. However, the council's delivery partner Robertson's have now appointed a number of sub-contractors, who will be on site from Monday (26 September) marking the start of restoration works.

Local dignitaries including Ashton MP Angela Rayner, Deputy leader of Tameside Council Cllr Bill Fairfoull and local councillors outside Ashton Town Hall on Saturday, looking forward to the first phase of refurbishment starting on Monday. Image: Massimo Malacrino. 

The works they will be carrying out include taking down a number of internal ceilings and removing “stud” walls to fully expose the structural fabric of the building and hidden architectural features. This partial internal strip-out will facilitate the completion of detailed surveys required to fully inform the ongoing design process for the restoration of the building envelope, including the roof and internal layout.   

Councillor Ged Cooney, Executive Leader of Tameside Council, said: "After being inside of the building and seeing its current state, it is obvious that it will take significant investment and resources to return it to its former glory. There is a lot of preparation work involved so that the state of the building can be fully appreciated before work starts on repairs. We are really keen to restore the building and bring back pride in the Town Hall and the surrounding area and the Levelling Up fund is helping us make a start on that." 

The council anticipate this element of the scheme, which has Listed Building consent, will be concluded towards the end of November.

A spokesperson for Robertson’s added: “It’s great we can now get sub-contractors inside the town hall. We are excited to make a start and to work alongside Tameside Council to restore the town hall and secure the future of the building.”

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