Planning permission has been granted for the regeneration of the Town Hall in Lowestoft’s High Street, a step forward in a £10m project.
The listed building has been unoccupied since 2015 and was transferred to Lowestoft Town Council when it was formed in 2017. The project would see the building transformed into a “multi-functional and inclusive centre for the community and visitors.”
Plans include a “heritage hub, tourist information centre and exhibition space, alongside a café” and will also reveal a restored Chamber with stained glass windows, which “will be used for civil ceremonies, as well as by Lowestoft Town Council and the Registrars, who will become anchor tenants.”
The project, a Lowestoft Town Council initiative, is supported The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic England, The Architectural Heritage Fund, Towns Fund, and East Suffolk Council.
The project has secured approximately £6m of funding, and the Town Council is currently running a consultation on proposals to take out a £4m Public Works Loan to complete the funding.
The current schedule would see a main contractor start building works in April 2024, with a reopening in late 2025.
Speaking at the Planning Committee North meeting, Cllr Sarah Plummer, Chair of the Planning Committee North said, “there is some very exciting work going on here and we are all looking forward to seeing where it all ends up”.
