Wedding venue plan for Bridgnorth town hall

Bridgnorth Town Council has applied for the landmark building to become a venue for weddings.

The building, which stands proudly in the middle of High Street, is currently undergoing a major refurbishment.

The town council has applied for a wedding venue application and hopes to hear if it has been approved by Shropshire Council in about two months time.

The closure of the Westage building, which has been earmarked for housing development by Shropshire Council, has left the town with just one register office, the Castle Hall in West Castle Street.

Town clerk Anne Wilson said the plan was to open up a second venue for ceremonies in the town hall.

She said: "The Castle Hall is currently the only venue in town and we are currently renewing the licence for that, which has to be done every three years. We hope to open up the town hall for weddings and we currently have two applications in with Shropshire Council.

"We should hopefully find out if we've been successful in the next couple of months.

"There are only two occasions I personally know of when the town hall has been used for such a ceremony in recent years. One was for a humanist wedding and there was also a humanist funeral held there once."

The town hall, which sits on stilts, is currently undergoing a £46,000 refurbishment.

The landmark building was leaking water due to poor lead flashing in both of the hall's bell towers, as well as suffering from severe woodworm and a rotting ceiling.

The majority of the work is expected to be finished by the summer, ready for new opening times. The hall will open from noon to 5pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, 1pm to 5pm on Saturdays but will close on Wednesdays.