VISITORS to Astley Park can hope to see major improvements to Astley Hall as Chorley Council plans to submit a £1.6million bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The council is submitting the bid, which if successful, will secure the future of the hall and see the front of the Grade I-listed building transformed.

Astley Hall currently has 40,000 visitors per year and is a part of several large events and exhibitions.

Councillor Peter Wilson, Deputy Leader of Chorley Council, said: “Astley Hall is a well-known landmark in Chorley and we’re looking to do everything we can to keep it.

“The Hall is an accredited museum but due to its age it needs a lot of work doing and for that to be done we need funding, otherwise the property could fall into a greater state of disrepair.

“We are up against competition for the funding so we need to make Astley Hall stand out from the crowd, which is why we are asking for input from locals and visitors to see what the Hall means to them and what they would like to be done to save its future.

“If we are successful with the HLF bid, we will repair the front of the Hall, which will include new windows and a review of the render, which is already starting to fall off.

“Other improvements to the inside of the Hall will also be made which will improve accessibility, displays and the visitor experience.”

Chorley Council applied for the bid last year and was unsuccessful so they are doing everything they can, which includes public consultation, to secure funding to save Astley Hall.

If the bid is successful, the council will modernise Astley Hall to suit the expectations of local people and visitors, improve the customer experience and save the future of Astley Hall.

The improvements will include; improvements to the façade of the Hall, including the render and windows, the reconfiguration of the route around the Hall for better accessibility, an increase in displays, interactive information and experiences, more information from staff and a small shop.

In the lead up to submitting the bid, Chorley Council are asking for input from local residents and visitors to see what they would like to be done to Astley Hall and how they would like to get involved. People can complete the survey to have their say which can be found at chorley.gov.uk/astleyhall.

The survey asks people what they would like to be done to Astley Hall and how they would like to be involved in the process.

If successful, Chorley Council hopes to offer hard hat tours to the public when work begins and also hopes to offer training for local university students.