A Carlisle-based contractor has been awarded a £1.1 million contract to revamp Barrow Town Hall.
Top Notch Contractors has been named as the preferred bidder for the work, to be carried out on behalf of Westmorland & Furness Council.
The authority wants to make internal changes to the ground floor of the Grade II-listed building to increase accessibility and make the town hall a more welcoming space, it said.
The Duke Street building was built in the Gothic style from local Hawcoat sandstone with a Westmorland slate roof and was officially opened to the public in 1887.
Work will include removing existing partitions, improving toilets, modernising staff offices and upgrade heating and electrical services.
Six potential contractors were invited to bid for the job, with five offering formal proposals.
All were within £284,000 of each other, the council said. Members met today, August 4, to seek approval to award the £1,111,948 contract.
Top Notch Contractors Ltd was chosen as the preferred bidder after they were deemed to have the best value by a scoring panel.
A council report said: “The tenders were evaluated by a panel of three assessors and assessed based on a 60% quality/40% price ratio.”
An earlier report to members said Top Notch Contractors was currently subject to a corporate voluntary arrangement, but it was anticipated to be concluded in the next three to four weeks.
That arrangement, a procedure that allows a financially distressed but potentially viable company to restructure its debts and continue trading, was actually concluded last month.
The arrangement involves the company proposing a plan to its creditors to repay all or part of its debts over a set period, often several years. If approved by the creditors, the arrangement becomes legally binding.
