MEMBERS of the public are being asked to help save the future of Chorley’s crown jewel, Astley Hall, as part of an application for funding for repairs and improvements.

Chorley Council plan to submit a £1.6 million bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund this August which if successful will see the front of the Grade I listed building transformed amongst other improvements.

The authority is asking for input from the public to see what improvements they would like to see to the hall to help make their case stronger when submitting the bid.

Cllr Alistair Bradley, leader of Chorley Council, said: “Astley Hall is a very important attraction in Chorley and its heritage is important to a lot of our residents and visitors.

“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, 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 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.

Hundreds of people have already completed the survey and the council hope to have over 2,000 surveys completed by the end of June.

The survey will be available to complete to the public until Saturday 30 June 2018.