Parish Council take possession of refurbished Festival Hall

With phase one of the building works complete at the Festival Hall, Jones Contracts formally handed over the hall to Alderley Edge Parish Council this afternoon (Thursday 12th November).

Representatives of both organisations gathered at the hall where Site Manager John Parker handed over the keys to the Hall Manager Ashley Comiskey-Dawson after which they celebrated the occasion with a glass of champagne.

Geoff Hall, Chairman of Alderley Edge Parish Council said, "I would like to put on record the Parish Council's gratitude to the Emerson organisation for their exceptional work on this project. I have always taken the view that a project of this scale and complexity is at the very limits of the capabilities of a Parish Council.

"I can confirm that this project is only coming to fruition now because of the commitment of all at Emerson - from the Chairman down. I hope at the conclusion of the project that we shall be able to record our thanks to all involved, but for the moment I would especially like to thank Peter Jones, Mark Royle, Steve Barnett, David Quirk and Jonathan Parker. They have all given us extraordinary support."

The hall closed for refurbishment early January so the new entrance and toilets could be created and double-glazed windows installed. Additionally, the bar has been brought up from the basement to make it accessible and the raised platform has been removed so the hall is now all one level.

Subject to the Parish Council being able to raise the additional funds required, they are hoping to carry out phase two of the works which will include providing two meeting rooms and offices for the Parish Council at the back of the building. They also hope to install a lift and build a hospitality suite to the left of the entrance.

The hall will be open this weekend for its first public event, an art exhibition organised by Art off the Edge which will run from 10.30am to 5pm on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th November.

Photo: (l-r) Cllr Ruth Norbury, Steve Barnett (Construction Manager), David Quirk (Technical Director), John Parker (Site Manager), Ashley Comiskey-Dawson (Festival Hall Manager), Clive Sellers (Employers Agent), Cllr Craig Browne, Cllr Geoff Hall and Cllr Rachael Grantham.