Town council now considering selling or letting town hall
A town council says it could leave its current premises at a town hall due to large running costs.
Ellesmere Town Council has said that it is considering selling or leasing the town hall on Willow Street – and has started asking the public for their opinions.
The council said the building, which it took on in 2005, costs around £56,000 a year to run.
In a statement it said that because of Shropshire Council's funding crisis and £60m+ black hole, it expects to be asked to take on more services from the senior council – and needs to consider how to pay for them.
It has also revealed that councillors have been looking at the ground floor at Fullwood House on Victoria Street as an alternative home.
It said: "To save money, the town council is currently considering selling or leasing out Ellesmere Town Hall.
"If they decide to release the building, however, there is a clause in the freehold that stipulates that the building must be kept for community use.
"The council has a duty of care to its staff and the community so they will endeavour to ensure that there is very little impact on the town hall users when making their decisions.
"The town council offices would need to be relocated to a building large enough to accommodate meetings and with enough space for members of the public to attend.
"The ground floor at Fullwood House on Victoria Street is currently being marketed 'to let’. All council members have been given the opportunity to view the property and all agree it would make ideal offices."
The statement explained how much the town hall costs to run each year.
It said: "Due to the recent financial announcements and cuts to services announced by Shropshire Council the town council has been forced to review their own assets and services. It is believed that Shropshire Council may ask town and parish councils to consider taking on additional assets and services in their areas, so with this in mind members have been looking at where they too can make savings to enable them to provide the services that the community needs.
"The town council has owned Ellesmere Town Hall since 2005. The building is hired out for a range of activities; however, this comes at a large cost to the council, with the building typically costing around £56,000 a year to run. This year the cost has increased significantly due to having a new roof covering, for which the council have had to save for several years to have completed.
"As a council there are restrictions placed upon us with regards to reclaiming VAT on the town hall and applying for grant funding which makes the maintenance of the building a struggle to upkeep. These restrictions would not apply if the building was being run by a different organisation.
"As a council we are bound by strict financial regulations and are not allowed to take on or dispose of any property without there first being an adequate level of consultation with the electorate so we would really appreciate you taking the time to give us your thoughts on the considerations that we are making."
People can send comments in writing, to Ellesmere Town Council, 1-3 Willow Street, Ellesmere, Shropshire, SY12 0AL, or by email to admin@ellesmere-tc.gov.uk.
Alternatively the council said it will have boxes available for people to drop comments into at Ismay's, Mere Motors and the Market Hall.
The deadline for comments is 12pm noon on Friday, April 5.
