Whitby's Old Town Hall is to be restored to become an art gallery, museum, public space, and retail area with increased facilities also set to be provided to market traders.
Planning permission for the renovations was granted last week.
North Yorkshire Council Project Officer - Kerry Levitt - says there is a lot of local support for the proposal.
Councillors on the Scarborough and Whitby area planning committee voted to approve the restoration, renovation, and change of use of the Whitby Old Town Hall at a meeting last week.
Councillor Roberta Swiers thinks the renovations are going to have a positive impact on the town.
Committee members commended the scheme for bringing the building back into use and making it “modern and safe”.
The plan includes the renovation of the first floor and attic rooms – which have not been occupied or used since 2017 – as an art gallery and studio for resident artists, whilst a kitchenette, heating, and a bathroom would also be added in addition to proposed window repairs.
Cllr Eric Broadbent welcomed the proposal
The market square outside the Old Town Hall, which is still regularly used as an outdoor market, is also set to receive upgrades in the form of level paving and hand railings to improve accessibility.
Planners were told that apart from an electricity supply the Old Town Hall building has "no other services that make it compatible for modern-day use and the first floor needs to cater to this”.
Kerry Levitt says part of the work will be to provide additional facilities for market traders.
North Yorkshire Council has said that work on the project is set to start later this year and will be completed by March 2025.
The scheme received a Towns Fund contribution of £1m but earlier this year the council admitted that there was a “circa £500,000 shortfall within the scheme” and confirmed that “match-funding still needs to be secured for the glazed element of the scheme”.
Officers said a key consideration was whether the works would preserve and enhance the building’s historical and special nature and concluded that the scheme should be approved.
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