Building work at Victoria Theatre in Halifax aims to 'improve overall customer experience' as Grade II listed venue set to gain a new café bar and box office

As part of the works, the Grade II listed building will gain new accessible toilets, a new box office, improved access and a new café bar.

James Kramer, front of house duty manager at the Victoria Theatre, said: “[The new bar] is an extra provision, so we’ll be able to serve people quicker and it will make us more sustainable, and it will hopefully improve the overall customer experience.

“It also gives us the opportunity to be open during the day.

“There is also a shop unit on the other side of the foyer which was never part of the theatre; the shop units were put on when the theatre was built in order to pay for the theatre’s mortgage – that was in the early 1900s.

"That is being turned into a seating area and there is an accessible toilet being put in the foyer. That’s going to increase the amount of room we have in the foyer hugely.

“We’re also having a platform lift installed [...] so it means if anybody wants to go to the bar or café, they can do without having to struggle with ramps.

“There is also a lift being put in to the circle level, so it’s making us a lot more accessible.

“If anybody can’t use stairs or struggles with stairs, they can still get to the circle and into the bar where we do a lot of events, so there’s quite a lot going on.”

A sign outside the theatre details the new additions that visitors can expect once the works are completed: “A new box office on Commercial Street with a lift to take visitors up to the Circle Level Bar; a platform lift to take visitors from the foyer to the auditorium on the ground floor; two additional accessible toilets; a brand-new café bar.”

Planning permission and listed building consent was conditionally approved in April 2023 and the theatre started the process of appointing a contractor in June 2023.

Work had started by December 2023, and structural work to create the new café bar was completed in March.

Funding for the project – set to total £1.8million – has come from the Government’s Future High Streets Fund and was secured in 2021.

It is one of seven projects in Halifax, including the modernisation of Borough Market and improvements to the Old Cock Yard and Cheapside alleyways.

Previously in March, Coun Sarah Courtney, Calderdale Council’s cabinet member for towns, tourism and voluntary sector, said: “The ongoing works at the Victoria Theatre are set to transform the visitor experience.

“The recent demolition works, which have involved knocking through the wall between the foyer and the former box office, and also into the vacant shop unit next door, will enable the creation of new improved areas and facilities.

“Supporting thriving towns and places is a priority for the council, and Future High Streets work across Halifax town centre will boost economic growth whilst also protecting our distinctive heritage.”