Regenerated arts and music venue opens in Leeds

A derelict mill building has been restored to become one of Leeds’ newest cultural hubs.

The Old Woollen, part of the Sunny Bank Mills complex in Farsley, now hosts a mix of music, comedy, theatre and the spoken word.

The renovated venue is now run by William and John Gaunt, owners of the Sunny Bank Mills, in conjunction with Yorkshire events company Trouble At Mill.

William Gaunt explained: “Bringing the Old Woollen back to life has been a true labour of love. The building has been completely derelict for 50 years and had fallen into an advanced state of dilapidation. So far we have spent £150k on bringing back a section of the ground floor into use.”

“We have ambitious plans to redevelop the whole building, once funds have been secured. We have intentionally left the Old Woollen in a state of ‘arrested decay’ which gives the audience a direct connection with the past.”

Dick Bonham, a director of Trouble At Mill, commented: “We are the company behind the popular Farsley venue The Constitutional and it made perfect sense to join forces with Sunny Bank Mills to launch a new collaborative space, The Old Woollen.

“We’re delighted to be coming home to Sunny Bank Mills. We started the Trouble At Mill journey with a series of pop-up events at the Mill, which featured a whole range of great shows and acts.

“The team there have always been incredibly supportive, and we’re thrilled that they’ve decided to work with us to re-purpose and re-energise The Old Woollen.”