Project
St George’s Guildhall, King’s Lynn
Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council (BCKLWN)
The St George's Guildhall complex contains six listed buildings, including the Grade I Listed Guildhall, which dates from the early 15th century. It is one of the oldest working theatres and may be the only surviving stage on which William Shakespeare performed, as he is thought to have toured there in 1592-1593 when London's theatres were closed due to a plague outbreak.
Lichfields secured planning permission and listed building consent for the restoration and refurbishment of the St George's Guildhall complex. The proposals designed by Haworth Tompkins architects will secure a viable long-term future for the site; bringing forward a 'creative hub' by converting under-utilised buildings into lettable, flexible workspaces for local creative businesses; restoring the restaurant on site; proposing an additional cafe/bar for theatre-goers; and refurbishing all buildings on site, with sensitive accessibility and environmental enhancements.
We worked closely with conservation and planning officers to demonstrate the clear public benefits of this project which they agreed outweighed any harm to the heritage assets. That close working relationship also ensured that a prompt decision was received on the applications. The project has levelling up funding and Lichfields is assisting with the discharge of conditions.
Lichfields were a great help with a very difficult and complex planning application, multiple listed buildings, biodiversity challenges and over 225 supporting documents. They kept the planning process on track and were great to work with.
Tim FitzHigham, Creative Director, BCKLWN
Image credit: Haworth Tompkins architects