The final £1,000 of the Town Hall Target 250 has been handed over to Bishop’s Castle Town Council – the final piece of the funding jigsaw for the recent renovation.

This local fundraising was crucial to the grant of £676,800 secured from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2012. Bishop’s Castle Town Hall is a Grade II* Listed building, putting it in the top 14% of most important historical buildings in the UK. Thanks to National Lottery players, the building re-opened to the public last summer.

The Bishop’s Castle Walking Festival has raised funds for the Town Hall over the last 2 years and representatives from the Festival and the Town Hall Trust are delighted to be able to complete Target 250.

Target 250 was the brainwave of Evelyn Bowles, now a Trustee at the Town Hall. The idea was for 250 local people or groups to raise £250 each to celebrate the 250 year old building and raise a whopping £62,500 towards its renovation.

“This is an excellent achievement by the people of Bishop’s Castle,” said Renovation Project Manager Sam Hine. “It’s a huge amount of money to raise in a small town and we hope everyone that has generously supported Target 250 over the last 4 years is pleased with the outcome of the renovation.”

Mayor Karen Bavastock said, “The Town Council is very pleased to receive the final amount of Target 250. This has been an amazing fundraising success and was a vital part of the overall project budget for the renovations of the Town Hall. The Town Council, and myself as Mayor, would like to thank everyone that has helped and taken part.”

Evelyn Bowles, Town Hall Trustee said, “It’s been an incredible local effort, with people kindly contributing in all sorts of ways. We are really pleased Target 250 has been achieved. The Town Hall is now managed by a new charity and we hope people will continue to support us by coming along to the Town Hall and enjoying the many and varied activities and events on offer.”