Falkirk Town Hall: Council refund tickets for 2023 shows as venue prepares to close

Two weeks since councillors agreed to close the facility in West Bridge Street after a production at the end of January by children’s theatre company Big Bad Wolf, staff are now looking at helping groups find alternative venues.

The move came after members were told it would cost over £6 million to safely disentangle the town hall from the municipal buildings which are currently being demolished and upgrade the property.

This week, the council said that all customers who had already bought tickets for shows at FTH have been refunded.

They also revealed that pre-pandemic in 2019 there had been 35,626 tickets sold for events in the venue and in 2022 it was 19,643. Over 1200 tickets had already been sold for 2023 shows which had previously been promoted.

A spokesperson said: “We have contacted all promoters and all shows for 2023 have been cancelled.

"We have contacted all individuals/organisations who had booked the venue and are in the process of, where possible, finding alternative venues and we are starting with bookings between January and March 2023.”

Arts group have expressed concerns that the town hall is closing before a replacement has been found and it could affect their ability to continue without income from holding productions.

Council officers have been asked to bring forward a report on suitable locations for a new town hall - it will no longer be an arts and civic centre with office accommodation as had been previously proposed.

The council has also pledged £200,000 of funding to support an arts programme that will take place across the district while the town hall is closed.