Wolverhampton Civic and Wulfrun Halls: Security to be re-evaluated
Security will be beefed up at two city centre venues in the wake of the Manchester terror attack, council chiefs have revealed.
Major reviews of the safety of Wolverhampton’s Civic and Wulfrun Halls will be included in a comprehensive £150,000 survey of the buildings, while the current £14.4 million revamp is in process.
Bosses said a review into the safety and security of the venues needed to take place too, following what the council called ‘recent events in the UK’.
Councillor John Reynolds, cabinet member for city economy, said the new safety elements would be internal, structural features which would be installed throughout the buildings, such as electronically controlled security doors.
“While work on the buildings is being done, it makes sense to incorporate these features now rather than pay more at a later date,” said Councillor Reynolds. The review includes fire systems, as well as an assessment into heating, ventilation, lighting, IT and the alarm systems.
The city council’s cabinet approved spending an extra £150,000, described as ‘an unexpected occurrence’, from the council’s emergency contingency reserve.
The revamp began in January and both halls will reopen at their current capacity for public events between October 21 and January 1. The Civic Hall will then close for further work until October next year.
A council report said: “The Cabinet Resources Panel is recommended to approve the £150,000 expenditure towards the estimated cost of additional technical surveys.
“This identifies if future maintenance and repairs can be minimised for the longer term and, following recent national incidents, towards a review of the need for any additional public safety requirements that should be included in the improvement scheme.”
The halls both underwent major changes following an announcement in July 2016 which saw the £14.4million Civic Halls Improvement scheme given the go ahead. The aim of the improvements was to, according to the report, ‘attract more popular acts and increase visitor numbers’. Now, the aim is to improve safety at the venues.
The report said: “Following recent national incidences, it was also considered advisable to review the need for any additional public safety requirements that should be included in the improvement scheme.”
Not only this, but ‘building structure and condition requires further assessment’ as well as ‘electrics, heating, ventilation and air conditioning’. The aim is to make sure the halls can be run effectively for the next 25 years.
These assessments are to be carried out in the coming months with a view to complete them by October.