Work on the multi-million pound project to transform a Victorian former town hall into a cinema and arts complex is continuing despite the lockdown. Tony McDonough reports

A multi-million pound project to transform a 122-year-old Merseyside building into an arts and leisure complex remains on track, despite the impact of the coronavirus lockdown.

Work on the Beacon Arts Village development, on the site of Hoylake’s Victorian former town hall, started in October 2019 after a grant of £3.64m was secured from the Government’s Coastal Communities Fund.

It will see the civic landmark converted into a two-screen cinema with 18 creative studio and retail spaces for artists and ‘makers’ around a central courtyard. In subsequent phases upper floors of the development will provide 40 apartments, using private funding. The project is creating more than 140 jobs during design, construction and operation.

Developer and owner of the site, Hylgar Properties, has continued construction work during the COVID lockdown to ensure that critical works were completed in time and that the building was made safe and weatherproof in the event of a complete shutdown.

All works have been proceeding in line with coronavirus national safety guidelines which have enabled the retention of jobs on the site, as well as keeping the project on track for an opening towards the end of 2020.

Dave Burke of Hylgar Properties said: “Throughout this period our thoughts have been with all those local businesses, and our neighbours, who are finding current events very difficult.

“From the start, the Beacon project has been developed to help inject new life into the town, as well as to deliver sustainable economic growth and job creation for generations to come. With everything going on in the world right now, once it’s all over, The Beacon will be needed more than ever.

“We are fortunate that the Government is helping to fund the project, which will make it a new safe business and we are very hopeful that, when complete, it will help accelerate Hoylake’s recovery and we will be playing our part in supporting the economy in Hoylake and Wirral West.

“It is, though, impossible to say now when we will be opening, because our focus is ensuring that we are keeping everyone safe on site while continuing the work in the best and most efficient way we can.”

The first phase of works on the building is now complete and included internal and external demolitions and construction, including new roofing. The restaurant and bar, a new build kitchen and a newly formed covered courtyard with kitchen space is on the ground floor.

The first floor will comprise a two-screen cinema, with acoustic installation, a newly constructed lavatory block and refurbished creative industry office/studio spaces. The cinema, which will be independently operated, will screen a wide range of films, with latest mainstream releases screening alongside some of the best independent films from around the world.

There will also be live streamed ‘event’ cinema as well as carefully curated classics, building on the heritage of the hugely popular Hoylake Community Cinema which closed its doors in 2019 to make way for the new cinema.

The tenant mix for the creative units is managed by Hoylake-based international artist Terry Duffy, chair of the British Art and Design Association, who has more than 30 years of experience creating arts communities in Liverpool and London.