Town Hall Reopens

The building - on Moorgate Street - has been brought up-to-date and is now more accessible to the public thanks to a £2.9 million refurbishment programme.

The works, which have taken nine months to complete, has seen a total re-organisation of the accommodation to create more meeting rooms and conference facilities as well as the refurbishment of the Mayoral Suite.

The council chamber has seen a re-design and now boasts two public viewing galleries, tiered seating and in-built modern technology. The remainder of the building houses a variety of meeting and conference facilities that will be available for public use.

In addition Rotherham Borough Council is also working towards providing a marriage suite within the building.

If this approved by the national governing body, it will mean that in the future couples will have the choice of either getting married at the new Riverside House, currently being built on the Guest and Chrimes site, or at Rotherham Town Hall.

The Town Hall already is available to host wedding receptions in its main function room on Saturdays.

The building has not been refurbished since it took on the role of Rotherham Town Hall in 1994 in what was the former Magistrates Court building. The latest refurbishment has been planned for several years and the Council was already committed to the improvement scheme before the current economic crisis.

Karl Battersby, Strategic Director for Environmental and Development Services, said the Building now offers a much wider range of accommodation for not only members and officers but also the wider public.

He added: "The improvement scheme was planned several years ago and the authority was contractually committed to the work. We believe the refurbishment has addressed the concerns of the public and as a result the town now has a smart multi-functional building offering a wide range of accommodation that is very much available for public use by various local groups as well as for council business."