An extraordinary town council meeting is being held in Buckfastleigh to secure the future of the town hall.

The meeting, at the hall tomorrow (August 22) from 7pm, will cover urgent operational issues of Buckfastleigh Town Hall and Institute and options for the future management of the charity.

Buckfastleigh Town Council Chairman Andy Stokes said: We have some exciting plans afoot to get this building fit for our community in the 21st century and beyond.

‘Buckfastleigh Town Hall is a great resource for the town. It has provided space for learning, exercise, entertainment and performance, as well as offices for the town council and our public library for more than 100 years. We want to make sure it can carry on meeting the needs of the community for many, many years to come.’

The Town Hall Institute is a charity in its own right and Buckfastleigh Town Council became its trustee in the 1950’s. Since then the town councillors have held a dual role, running both the council and the charity. During the last three years the town council has been upgrading equipment and working practices to make sure the building is safe and secure and meets modern legislation.

Cllr Stokes added: ‘Now we need to work out how to get the town hall into shape for the next 100 years.

‘To continue into the future it needs further significant investment and improvement. We also need to make sure the hall is properly managed and is meeting the current needs of the community.

‘We think the town councillors are not best placed to manage the day-to-day business of the town hall or lead the project to secure its future.

‘We are therefore considering options for creating a new board of trustees, independent from the town council, to develop an approach to revitalise, refurbish and re-imagine the town hall.’

Cllr Stokes said the aim would be to secure a proper management plan; address immediate needs including safety, access and hiring conditions; develop plans for generating additional users and income; find grant income to carry out urgent repairs and development; and look further ahead to longer term community needs and sustainability.

He added: ‘The town council would continue to provide essential financial support to the town hall and would expect and support the trustees to work closely with the community to identify options and opportunity for development.

‘We’re urging residents to attend this extraordinary council meeting to find out the reasons why we are proposing this and how it might work.’

Buckfastleigh Town Council’s annual community consultation event ‘Buckfastleigh - Where Next?’ will now be held on October 17. This meeting was postponed from July due to concerns about low attendance as the date clashed with a rather important World Cup England fixture. The ’Soup’ community grant-giving event will now also take place in October, with more details to follow.