FRESH details and images have been released about the £4 million restoration and refurbishment of Bradford’s historic St George’s Hall.

The grade II* listed venue closed at the end of March for a year to allow the full transformation to go ahead, after securing £2.5 million of funding from Bradford Council, in addition to £1.5m from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Now details of where and what the money will be spent on have been released by theatre bosses, providing an update on the project to the Telegraph & Argus.

The Heritage Lottery Fund project plans to restore the sandstone exterior of the landmark Bradford city centre building and make other improvements both inside and out, to preserve heritage features and thereby enhance the venue.

As well as physical improvements to the building, the project will make archive materials about the history of the hall more accessible and develop stronger links with the local community.

These works include changes to the front of house both on the ground floor and the first floor.

On the ground floor the entrance colonnade will be glazed to provide a new draught-free lobby and the three original entrance doors from Hall Ings will be reinstated, leading into a new open-plan foyer and bar area.

In addition, a hidden mosaic floor in the bar area currently covered by seating and carpets will be exposed. The visual connection to the first floor will be reinstated by using a partial glass ceiling.

There will be a new passenger lift from entrance level to the stalls level and new larger toilet facilities.

Meanwhile on the first floor, there will be a remodelled bar area to include tea, coffee, a concession stand, a larger seating area and the partial glass floor to allow light into ground floor below.

A larger open foyer space will be created into the stalls, and the ceiling in the Gallery Room will be reinstated to its original height.

The first floor toilets will also be reconfigured and refurbished.

The Council, which runs the 1850s building, is also undertaking a wider programme of works to maintain and improve the building alongside the Heritage Lottery Fund project.

This includes essential repairs such as work to the roof, windows, electrics, heating system and stonework.

Adam Renton, general manager at Bradford Theatre, said: “We now begin an extremely exciting period of refurbishment and development which will result in a much improved venue re-opening next year.

“We look forward to welcoming audiences to a venue which will still maintain all the character and wonderful acoustics that makes St George’s Hall one of the UK’s premier concert halls and entertainment venues.”

The venue, which was the country’s first purpose-built concert hall, is now closed for 12 months for the works to be carried out. It will re-open in 2017.

Investigative work began in April once the building had been closed to the public but a start date for the refurbishment work is yet to be announced.

When planning permission was secured earlier this year, Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, then executive member for culture, welcomed the decision on the back of the Lottery funding go-ahead a few weeks earlier.

At the time she said: “It’s another step on the way to creating a refreshed St George’s Hall. As well as a better bar and catering area, the improvements will include enhanced seating with better views of the stage and putting the doors back in their original place on Hall Ings.”

The Lockwood and Mawson-designed building was built from Ashlar sandstone from quarries near Leeds in a late classical temple style based on the Birmingham Guildhall. It was granted listed building status in 1963 at Grade II* level.