Calderdale Council has revealed that the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has approved development plans as part of a funding bid for the redevelopment of Piece Hall, Halifax.

Nearly £240,000 of funding was awarded in March as part of the council's bid for a full HLF grant worth £7m, which will go towards the creation of a new European-style piazza at the site's Grade I-listed courtyard. A new space to examine the role of the hall in Yorkshire's history also features as part of the £16m development, which forms part of a wider project to drive the economic regeneration of Halifax.

Calderdale Council now has up to 18 months to submit a more detailed application to HLF, which will determine whether it has been successful in its bid for the full funding award. The council's cabinet member for safer and stronger communities, Ian Cooper, said: "We want this building to give Halifax the heart it deserves and to make sure that Halifax's most iconic building has a strong, viable future.

"A bid of this size is a complex process, and we are working hard with the Heritage Lottery Fund to ensure it has the maximum possible chance of success."