Yarm town hall renovation extra funding pledge

The revamped town hall complete with heritage centre is due to open later in the year

Extra funding has been pledged for the renovation of an 18th Century town hall.

Around £600,000 is being spent on the revamp of Yarm Town Hall in Stockton, including creating a heritage centre.

The work is being paid for from government's Levelling Up Fund, along with contributions from Stockton Council and Yarm Town Council.

The town council has also pledged a further £5,600 to cover the cost of exhibition equipment.

Completion of the project has also been pushed back from the spring until later in the year, the town council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The work will involve reinstating original feature arches - which were bricked up in 1888 and the 1930s - with new glass windows.

Exhibitions will tell Yarm's story and artefacts will be on display including a flood bell, weighbridge arm and a reproduction of a 10th Century Viking helmet which was unearthed in the town.

New glazing will be part of the restoration works for Yarm Town Hall which dates from 1710

Town council clerk Juliet Johnson said: "This is a massive project for a small town council that we've been saving for for years."

The extra money will be spent on projectors, seating and TV screens in the Grade II listed building.

Yarm Town Council chairman John Coulson said during a council meeting: "We've done this project, it's gone on years and I just think it's unique.

"It's going to go down in the annals of the history of Yarm."

A replica of a Viking helmet found in the town will also be on display in the revamped town hall