The last four weeks have seen significant changes to the area outside the Hall For Cornwall building on Lemon Quay as contractors Kier have begun work on our redevelopment project.
01/08/18 06:15 Filed in: HfCHall for Cornwall
The last four weeks have seen significant changes to the area outside the Hall For Cornwall building on Lemon Quay as contractor Kier has begun work on our redevelopment project.
The hoardings surrounding the construction site have now been erected. We eagerly await the arrival of the visuals, which will tell the redevelopment story and celebrate the building and Truro’s history and heritage.
The surface of the compound area was covered with sand, and then the tarmac was laid over the top to protect the surface of the quay during the construction works. Steel beams have also been installed over the culvert to support the weight of the site cabins. Three cabins have been erected on the site so far, with a further three due to be erected within the next few weeks. There are expected to be up to 80 people working on the site during the two-year project, and the cabins are needed to provide welfare facilities for the teams and site office accommodation.
Work has also begun inside the building, with specialist teams currently carrying out ‘soft strip demolition’ to remove internal fixtures and fittings in the Back Quay area. So far, teams have cleared out the former coffee shop, booking office and bar areas and are now working on the entrance to the auditorium to enable larger 20-tonne machinery to be brought in to remove the more extensive material. These works are expected to take another two weeks, with the main auditorium expected to have been cleared by Christmas. Once this has been completed, the teams will remove the stairs and balcony area on Back Quay and begin work on the Boscawen side of the building.
Kier plans to recycle as much of the original material as possible, including timber, concrete and plasterboard, so the materials will be taken to recycling areas as the demolition works are undertaken. We want to ensure that everyone can follow the progress of our exciting £20m redevelopment project and post photos and film footage of the building works on our website–www.hallforcornwall.co.uk and our social media channels www.facebook.com/HallforCornwall .
We also work with Kier to organise hard hat tours, open days and events. The first hard hat tours will take place on the afternoon of Friday, 30 November, with further tours being held on the last Friday of each month. There will be up to 100 places available on each of the days. Information on the tours, including details of how to book places, will be available on our website. Our building may be closed, but we still want to allow Cornish audiences to enjoy world-class theatre. As part of this commitment, we are joining Truro Plaza Cinema to present an entire mini-season of theatre screenings featuring three West End productions, together with the opportunity to hear leading members of their cast and creative teams talk about how productions were put together.
Our first 'In Conversation With.....' season presents award-winning director Michael Grandage at the Plaza Cinema on 15 November, talking about his Tony-award-winning RED ahead of a special screening of the production, leading West End General Manager Joanne Benjamin discussing the role she played in bringing the West End hit The King and I to the stage on 28 November and Simon Callow discussing his critically-acclaimed one-man show A Christmas Carol on 19 December.
If all that was not enough, we are also looking forward to Hireth, a brilliant new play by Cornish writer, actor and comedian Edward Rowe (aka Kernow King) which will be performed in St Just’s Grade II* listed Miners Chapel between 9 and 17 November. Directed by Simon Harvey and featuring the music of folk legend Seth Lakeman, a cast of professional actors and a community chorus, this epic new production tells the untold story of Cornwall’s forgotten war heroes and their remarkable impact on the First World War. This is the first time a production of this kind has been staged in this historic chapel, and with only ten performances taking place, make sure you book early.
The surface of the compound area was covered with sand, and then the tarmac was laid over the top to protect the surface of the quay during the construction works. Steel beams have also been installed over the culvert to support the weight of the site cabins. Three cabins have been erected on the site so far, with a further three due to be erected within the next few weeks. There are expected to be up to 80 people working on the site during the two-year project, and the cabins are needed to provide welfare facilities for the teams and site office accommodation.
Work has also begun inside the building, with specialist teams currently carrying out ‘soft strip demolition’ to remove internal fixtures and fittings in the Back Quay area. So far, teams have cleared out the former coffee shop, booking office and bar areas and are now working on the entrance to the auditorium to enable larger 20-tonne machinery to be brought in to remove the more extensive material. These works are expected to take another two weeks, with the main auditorium expected to have been cleared by Christmas. Once this has been completed, the teams will remove the stairs and balcony area on Back Quay and begin work on the Boscawen side of the building.
Kier plans to recycle as much of the original material as possible, including timber, concrete and plasterboard, so the materials will be taken to recycling areas as the demolition works are undertaken. We want to ensure that everyone can follow the progress of our exciting £20m redevelopment project and post photos and film footage of the building works on our website–www.hallforcornwall.co.uk and our social media channels www.facebook.com/HallforCornwall .
We also work with Kier to organise hard hat tours, open days and events. The first hard hat tours will take place on the afternoon of Friday, 30 November, with further tours being held on the last Friday of each month. There will be up to 100 places available on each of the days. Information on the tours, including details of how to book places, will be available on our website. Our building may be closed, but we still want to allow Cornish audiences to enjoy world-class theatre. As part of this commitment, we are joining Truro Plaza Cinema to present an entire mini-season of theatre screenings featuring three West End productions, together with the opportunity to hear leading members of their cast and creative teams talk about how productions were put together.
Our first 'In Conversation With.....' season presents award-winning director Michael Grandage at the Plaza Cinema on 15 November, talking about his Tony-award-winning RED ahead of a special screening of the production, leading West End General Manager Joanne Benjamin discussing the role she played in bringing the West End hit The King and I to the stage on 28 November and Simon Callow discussing his critically-acclaimed one-man show A Christmas Carol on 19 December.
If all that was not enough, we are also looking forward to Hireth, a brilliant new play by Cornish writer, actor and comedian Edward Rowe (aka Kernow King) which will be performed in St Just’s Grade II* listed Miners Chapel between 9 and 17 November. Directed by Simon Harvey and featuring the music of folk legend Seth Lakeman, a cast of professional actors and a community chorus, this epic new production tells the untold story of Cornwall’s forgotten war heroes and their remarkable impact on the First World War. This is the first time a production of this kind has been staged in this historic chapel, and with only ten performances taking place, make sure you book early.