Portadown and Lurgan town halls facelift scheme is first major upgrade in more than 30 years
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon councillor, Julie Flaherty has praised the upgrade work that has been carried out over recent months at Portadown Town Hall, as part of the Town Halls Improvement Programme.
The scheme aims to do more than improve the appearance of the civic buildings, as there is also a focus on energy efficiency, while unused space at Portadown Town Hall is being turned into a state-of-the-art ‘FlexiHub’ workspace.
Lurgan Town Hall has also been refurbished as part of the scheme.
The matter was mentioned at a recent Community & Wellbeing Committee meeting of the council.
The relevant agenda item stated: “Over recent months, the Community Development Department, in partnership with Council’s Estates and Assets Department, has progressed a maintenance improvement programme across our town halls to revitalise them as historic civic buildings and community spaces.
“This work is forming part of the ongoing review of community facilities.
“The Town Hall Maintenance Programme aims to ensure our town halls are appealing and functional spaces for diverse community groups, while also preserving their heritage value.
“Notably, this is the first significant upgrade in over 30 years, addressing both aesthetic and functional elements to meet contemporary standards.
“Work to date has included upgrading of sound and lighting equipment and painting works. Sound and lighting equipment upgrades have been installed in both Lurgan and Portadown Town Halls, increasing functionality, addressing health and safety risks and ensuring reliability for user groups.
“Enhanced functionality elevates the halls to modern event standards and boosts their competitiveness as venues.
“A site-wide painting project is refreshing the appearance of all areas within Lurgan Town Hall, while preserving the building’s architectural and cultural significance. This is its first major upgrade in over 30 years and was completed ready for the Christmas performance season. The improvements also include new curtains for the auditorium and stage.
“At Portadown Town Hall, the recently completed painting scheme has revitalised the facility, introducing modern and refreshing colours throughout key areas, and injecting new life into this heavily utilised space.
“The initial focus has been on the main auditorium, backstage areas and both external and internal works to restore the extension and bring a neglected meeting room back into use. While the entire facility was not included in this phase of painting, further proposals are being developed to upgrade the main foyer and meeting rooms, as part of future improvements.
“Community facilities and town halls are currently undergoing a review. A key focus of this process is to maximise usage and footfall across these assets by the community.
“In a joint initiative between officers in the Economic Development and Community Development Departments, officers are developing co-working spaces within Portadown Town Hall in underused meeting spaces.
“This ‘FlexiHub’ aims to support local people from both the community and business sectors, provide a bookable working space for use alongside existing bookings, and generate additional income for the facility.”
Speaking at the Community & Wellbeing Committee meeting, Cllr Flaherty (UUP, Portadown DEA) commented: “I drop into Portadown Town Hall quite regularly and they’re very busy at the moment. It looks fabulous. The work that has been done to the main auditorium is really quite something, and I know there’s been a lot of expense with lighting and all that. It’s really welcome and was really needed.”