ASPIRATIONAL £8m plans to transform Middlesbrough Town Hall into one of the region’s top concert venues as well as a new visitor attraction will move a step closer once contracts are signed.

A Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant worth £3,702,600 will be used to modernise the Grade II Listed building to help it rival venues in Newcastle and Leeds so it can keep attracting top music and comedy performers.

The money will also be used to restore the Victorian Gothic building to show off its hidden historic treasures to the public including its original court room with holding cells and fire station which will be opened to the public to allow heritage tours.

A Middlesbrough Council meeting to be held in the town hall on Monday, June 22, will recommend the Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport formally accepts the financial award and the terms of the grant. The council is ploughing a further £4m into the project to revamp the 1,800 capacity hall, described by comedian Jimmy Carr as his favourite venue.

A report for the meeting said if the award and terms of grant were not formally accepted the council would still have to fund £2m of urgent maintenance repairs over the next five years.

“The likelihood is that the venue will become less commercially competitive when compared to other regional venues and the potential £3.7m HLF will also be lost for the town.”

The document concluded that accepting the grant would boost the town’s cultural offer.

“The town hall has extensive areas which are under-utilised and the HLF provides the potential for new complimentary activities to bring people into the building as a destination in its own right.”