An army of cleaners was today descending on the city's historic St George's Hall as a huge operation to fix it began to draw to an end.

The Victorian hall will reopen in the New Year after repairs costing £264,000 and a full scale clean-up.

The hall closed in October after cracks were found in the ornate ceiling.

It was initially expected to open within three weeks, but specialist contractors were called in and found painstaking repairs needed to be done, with the job turning out to be far more extensive and expensive than anticipated.

St George's was surrounded by scaffolding as shows by artists such as Def Leppard, Michael Ball and Ken Dodd were postponed or transferred to other venues.

But today the last touches of paint were being added and the cleaners were moving in to prepare the building for its reopening on January 4.

Councillor Margaret Eaton, leader of Bradford Council which owns the building, said: "This wonderful, historic hall is part of our heritage which the Council is totally committed to preserving for the enjoyment and benefit of the community for many more years to come.

"The ceiling has now been fully restored and redecorated and the hall will continue to provide a marvellous venue for some of the best live entertainment available."

Her colleague Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, the Council's spokesman for arts, heritage and leisure said: "It's been a massive project, but it was essential to do the work before the damage became worse and the venue became unsafe. I am delighted that thanks to the round-the-clock hard work of contractors and theatre staff, the hall will reopen to the public as planned in the New Year."

The Council's manager of theatres, concert halls and the community Adam Renton said English Heritage, Britain's biggest conservation organisation, had worked with them because of the historic importance of the 150-year-old concert hall.

Specialist contractors carried out painstaking work on the ornate plaster, which has been restored to its former glory. He said the sides of the whole auditorium had been repainted for the first time since a refurbishment 20 years ago.

The clean-up squad will return after Christmas, to have St George's Hall gleaming for a Viennese New Year celebration concert on January 4, which will feature the Halle, Bradford's resident orchestra.