RESIDENTS and the business community have the opportunity to view plans and hear proposals for the refurbishment of Ashburton Town Hall, at a public meeting there on Thursday at 7.30pm.
The grade two listed building, which is 160 years old, was taken on with public backing from Teignbridge Council some 18 months or so ago.
The district authority had planning consent to put retail outlets on the ground floor which would have fronted North Street, but the local council stepped in following a town appraisal.
Cllr Jonathan Richards, finance and town hall buildings committee chairman, said the council had received a mandate from the public to take on the building.
'We have done that and we have come up with what we see as an option for the future. We just do not want to charge ahead without the public support we need,' he said.
'If they do not like what we are presenting, we will have to go back to the drawing board, but whatever is chosen it has to be viable,' he said.
After Teignbridge Council's plans for shop units were passed, the town council took the matter back to Dartmoor National Park Authority and successfully applied for a different plan.
The proposal is to refurbish to a high standard so that it has greater letting potential, incorporating two private ground floor offices and first floor public rooms, while the toilets would be moved upstairs. The kitchen would also be extended and the lift improved.
Cllr Richards said costs would be revealed at the meeting as well as alternatives.
'Financially our ultimate aim is for it to break even,' he stated.