5 million and one thank yous

The Piece Hall has welcomed 5 million visitors since its reopening on 1st August 2017.

That’s far more than the original target of 1.6 million visitors per year and it’s something for everyone that’s been involved, now and in the past, in what is a magnificent draw for Yorkshire to celebrate.  

 To commemorate this milestone, we worked with our friends at The Piece Hall Trust, at Lumen and Simon Dewhurst to create a series of ‘thank you’ shots that we’re hoping will reach all 5 million visitors. Here’s one.

 The vision to invest in this huge heritage building with its chequered history has been upheld and delivered through recession, austerity, changing consumer behaviour and “the death of the high street”, as well as the usual changes of personnel that you’d expect in a decade.

 It’s a testament to many, many people that the vision has been upheld, never more so than by the current team led by chief executive Nicky Chance-Thompson and chairman Roger Marsh OBE who got us all to the point of opening two years ago today and haven’t stopped raising the bar ever since.

 It’s been great for profile-raising nationally and internationally to get The Piece Hall featured on Antiques Roadshow, Lonely Planet, BBC Breakfast, Good Morning Britain and thousands more places. The media coverage book is one of the best we’ve produced.

But it's the sense of local pride that has emerged that is hardest won and of most value, not least to the small businesses that have started up at The Piece Hall and helped make the vision a reality. Last week, the Halifax Courier published the results of a survey showing that local people name The Piece Hall as the best thing about Halifax. Eight out of ten of the many people who responded say that The Piece Hall is boosting Calderdale’s towns.

We’ve worked on ‘The Piece Hall project’, on and off, for 10 years and it’s been a highlight in the 20 years of our agency. In addition to The Piece Hall Trusts’s 5 million thank yous to visitors, I’m really thankful that Anita Morris Associates has been part of the team.