Westmorland and Furness Council have published the results of its recent Community Conversation that are helping shape the future of Penrith Town Hall.
A total of £3 million has been secured from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund, with an additional £500,000 currently allocated within the Town Investment plan through the Borderlands Place Programme to transform the Grade II Listed building in the centre of Penrith into a community and creative hub.
In September 2025, the Council launched an intensive four-week engagement programme, inviting residents, community representatives and creative partners to help co-create a future vision for the iconic Grade II listed building. It successfully gathered views on what services, facilities and activities people would like to see hosted here.
At the heart of the engagement was a community survey, available online and in hard copy at local venues, supported by public drop-in sessions. In total, 456 survey responses and 80 individual conversations generated 116 suggestions for Penrith Town Hall.
Co-creation workshops led by The Knotted Project Theatre Company engaged 112 young people through creative sessions with local schools and youth services, ensuring their voices shaped ideas for the building’s future.
Views from older residents were heard through arts workshops at Cold Springs Care Home, the Talkin Tables Group, and Penrith Library’s Knit and Natter group. Officers also attended sessions at Penrith Library to reach under-represented groups, including people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and members of the Penrith Refugee Network.
Alongside public engagement, the council held visioning workshops with the creative and community sector. These sessions included the Borderlands Penrith Town Team, Eden Locality Board and Penrith Town Council members, and a wide range of partner organisations, helping shape early ideas for the building.
Feedback highlighted a strong desire for Penrith Town Hall to become an asset that is fully embedded within the town’s community and creative fabric.
Residents and stakeholders consistently emphasised the importance of ensuring any future use of the building complements, rather than competes with, the valuable work already delivered by local creative organisations and community groups.
Responses showed that people would like to see a mix of creative activities, and community services and facilities focused around four key themes: community, arts and creativity, enterprise, and heritage and culture.
The greatest number of suggestions related to community use, followed by arts and creativity, enterprise, and heritage and culture.
When asked about specific spaces and facilities, there was strong support for flexible, multi-use provision. A total of 65% per cent of respondents said they would like to see a performance studio or exhibition space, while 63% supported the creation of a community venue for meetings, learning opportunities and social events. In addition, 57% highlighted the importance of free Wi-Fi and spaces suitable for events and ceremonies.
Throughout all engagement activities, respondents also reiterated the importance of ensuring that any future offer for Penrith Town Hall is financially sustainable and, where possible, self-sufficient.
The insights gathered through the engagement programme, alongside wider service considerations and opportunities to integrate services within the council, are now being used to evaluate a range of high-level, community-led options for a Strategic Outline Business Case.
The options will be presented to Westmorland and Furness Cabinet in April 2026 where a decision will be made.
Members will review the options within the broader strategic context before deciding how Penrith Town Hall can be redeveloped to make the best use of the secured funding.
Councillor Helen Chaffey, Cabinet Member for Communities, Customer Services, Culture and Communications, said:
“This is an exciting and important milestone for the future of Penrith Town Hall. Publishing the outcomes of the Community Conversation gives people a transparent view of what we have heard and how their feedback is shaping the next stage of the project.
“The variety of engagement opportunities meant we were able to reach every corner of our communities and offer people different ways to get involved and share their views.
“The Strategic Outline Business Case will incorporate local voices and demonstrate how they have influenced the future direction of the building, reflecting key themes around community use, arts and creativity, enterprise, and celebrating heritage. It will also ensure the options complement and support the fantastic range of activity already taking place in Penrith and the surrounding area.
“Cabinet Members will review these options in April 2026, when a decision will be made on the future of this important building.”
Westmorland and Furness Council have reviewed earlier project and procurement deadlines that were set.
To support efficient delivery, the Council intends to adopt a design and build procurement route. This will see a single main contractor appointed to both design and construct the works, helping to streamline the process, improve coordination and manage risk more effectively.
The new approach ensures feedback collected through the Community Conversation will be an integral part of Strategic Outline Business Case. Sufficient time has also been built in for proposals to be fully considered and tested to confirm long-term financial viability and ensure the Government’s Levelling Up Funding deadlines are met.
Alongside this, the Council has identified a number of essential works required to bring Penrith Town Hall forward for reuse. These works can be progressed by a contractor whilst the community and stakeholder-led design for the building is being established following a Cabinet decision.
Westmorland and Furness Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Assets, Councillor Andrew Jarvis, said:
“With a project of this scale, it has been essential to review our programme and timelines to make sure what we deliver is both what our communities want to see and what is achievable.
“Financial sustainability will be central to the Strategic Outline Business Case, helping to ensure the building is viable over the long term while continuing to deliver lasting benefits for the local community, particularly in the challenging financial environment we are facing.
“The approach we are now adopting means we are maintaining momentum on the project while continuing to develop the future vision for the building. This approach will also support delivery within the Levelling Up Fund timescales, with the Council remaining on track to meet the March 2028 deadline.”
The full results of the engagement activity are available online at
www.westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk/penrithtownhall.
Background to the funding
In July 2022, the former Eden District Council submitted a proposal to the government's Levelling Up Round 2 to establish an Enterprise Hub at the Junction 41 site. This funding bid was initially rejected by Government, but then in the Autumn Statement in November 2023 Government announced that £7.09 million funding would now be awarded.
By that point and following the original funding refusal, the Junction 41 site had been sold to a developer. It is now being marketed as 'Penrith 41' and is coming forward for commercial development independently.
To ensure Penrith did not lose this significant investment, the council entered into urgent discussions with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) about redirecting the grant to alternative projects that would benefit the area.
Due to a limited timescale to put forward a proposal, the council followed the MHCLG's Project Adjustment Request guidance, in consultation with Cabinet Members, and undertook the appropriate change-control processes to propose two viable and deliverable projects.
This swift action ensured this vital investment was secured which includes £4.09 million for a new town centre enterprise hub and £3 million to create a community and creative hub at Penrith Town Hall.
This funding is ring-fenced and can only be used by Westmorland and Furness Council to deliver this project and cannot be redirected to any other asset or programme.