Lowestoft Town Hall
Lowestoft Town Hall
We produced a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for this Grade II listed former town hall, to inform its rescue and reuse as a community hub as a Lottery-funded Heritage Action Zone scheme.
Like many coastal towns on England’s east coast, Lowestoft has suffered from the decline of the fishing and tourism industries, further compounded by insensitive post-war traffic management.
The Italianate town hall dates from the 1850s and 1900s, and is the latest incarnation of municipal buildings on the site dating back to around 1300. Throughout the twentieth-century, the building continued to serve municipal functions, adapting to changing local government needs. The Town Hall has been part of Lowestoft’s civic identity for over a century, witnessing the town’s transformation from a major fishing port to a more diverse economy including offshore energy industries, particularly with the growth of the North Sea oil and gas sector and more recently, offshore wind energy development.
Prior to our appointment, the building had been vacated by Waveney District Council, but had become the subject of a National Lottery Heritage Fund application led by the newly-formed Lowestoft Town Council, with support from Historic England through the Heritage Action Zone programme.
We produced a CMP for the town hall, identifying the heritage significance and providing management recommendations for its future management and refurbishment. Our work informed emerging design proposals by Richard Griffiths Architects and HAT Projects to revive the Grade II listed building as a centre for community activity, with a café, meeting rooms, a multi-use hall, a gallery and heritage interpretation.
When complete, the project will bring back activity and breathe new life into the high street, spurring heritage-led regeneration of the town centre.
Client Lowestoft Town Council/Historic England