£500,000 redevelopment of the Malton's Milton Rooms, including developing the 19th century Subscription Rooms

The project involves a half a million pound redevelopment of the Malton's Milton Rooms, including developing the 19th century Subscription Rooms, which face onto Yorkersgate and house Malton Museum.

Merryn Wilderspin, chairman of the trustees of the Milton Rooms, the registered charity which runs the building, said: “We need to make the property fit for the 21st century and create spaces for the benefit of the people of Malton, Norton and the surrounding district.

“Our plans bring together the two halves of this amazing listed building, making them more accessible to disabled people and completely refurbishing spaces that have become run-down over the years.

“We have a wonderful Georgian ballroom that is currently not used. Water penetration has damaged the plasterwork and the room has suffered through being used for many purposes during the last 200 years.

"We want to renovate this beautiful space and open it up again for lectures, performances, activities and possibly even as a wedding venue."

Other plans include a new entrance to the existing Studio Bar, with new toilets to serve the renovated Assembly Room. The bar will move to the back of the Assembly Room and a new kitchen will be provided.

There will also be exhibition facilities for the Woodham Stone Collection, which has an important collection of items and images relating to Malton and Norton, but currently has no permanent display space.

A new lift will take people down to the Malton Museum and, together with a stair lift in the museum foyer, will make the museum accessible to wheelchair users for the first time.

At the Market Square side of the building, it is planned to enclose the entrance portico with glass panels and doors. The new lift will also provide access for disabled people to the Milton Rooms hall.

The basement areas under the Milton Rooms hall will be completely refitted with new toilets and rooms for use as meeting rooms or project spaces. These rooms will double as changing rooms for performers.

The art deco main hall, which has one of the largest sprung dance floor in North Yorkshire, will be redecorated to restore the distinctive 1930s décor.

Liz Whitehouse, development officer for the Milton Rooms, said: “At present we are working on a funding application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for part of the funding for the project, but we will also need to find money from many other sources and we anticipate a project cost of in excess of half a million pounds.”

Work on developing the plans for the building is being funded by grants from Ryedale District Council and the Architectural Heritage Fund.

"We are grateful for the support of these two organisations as without them we would not be able to make progress towards the renovation," said Liz.

The Milton Rooms is run entirely by volunteers and the trustees would like to hear from anyone who can help to keep the building active until the refurbishment begins and also from anyone with experience in building and project management.

For more information, phone 01653 696240 or email info@themiltonrooms.com