Ryde Town Council has decided to buy the run-down town hall and theatre — despite funding concerns and repair costs totalling more than £2.4million.
The decision made at Ryde Town Council’s (RTC) meeting yesterday (Wednesday) led to the resignation of Les Kirkby, who said the council had gone against all the advice given to it by officers and solicitors and that it will only mean the people of Ryde will pay more for their precept.
The town council had been in discussion with the owners of the building for the past three years but was issued with an ultimatum to decide what they wanted to do by July.
Putting forward the motion to the council, Cllr Phil Jordan said the previous town council had already agreed to take the building on but with new faces on the council wanted them to have their say.
He said it was a matter of either saving the building, which has been empty since the Isle of Wight Council sold it in 2013, or not.
Cllr Jordan said:
“As we have seen in this town, private ownership does not work: these buildings fall into disrepair.
“The only future for a building of this nature is to bring it back into community use, with either public or community ownership … If we do not buy the building, its future is not very good.”
A feasibility study produced by Hampshire County Council found all of the options for the town hall and theatre to be ‘commercially unviable’.
To remodel the town hall into any of the options proposed would range from £3,050,000 to £3,540,000, on top of the repair costs, and exceed the estimated gross development values, leaving an overall funding gap of £3.5 million.
The study did say it could be mitigated through other funding sources like grants but RTC officers said a risk had been identified that there would be an 80 per cent chance grant funding could not be secured.
Cllr Jordan said when they had previously tried to get grant funding from the Heritage Lottery the main reason they were unsuccessful was because they did not own the building.
He did say it was a risk grant funding could not be secured but “everything in life is a risk and we have to balance those risks with the possible outcomes” and face the possibility that it could become another Vectis Hall if left alone.
Cllr Ian Stephens, one of three councillors to vote against buying the hall, said “his heart says yes but his head says hang on a minute, let’s think about this”.
He said it was the money of Ryde residents, some who have gone through hardships through Covid, being spent which may see an increase in the precept but there were other possible ways forward, such as a compulsory purchase order.
The motion to acquire the building and negotiate terms was approved by nine votes to three and three abstentions.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Kirkby said restoring the building could have been achieved through other developers working with RTC, and not pay more than the asking price the council may now be faced with.
Cllr Jordan said the final asking price, which currently stands at £600,000, would be subject to negotiation and that he could not comment on other councillors’ actions.
Mayor of Ryde, Cllr Michael Lilley, also voted against the decision.
He said after listening to all the debate, he felt it was inappropriate as mayor to go against officer’s recommendation although he did support the purchase but more time and consultation was needed.
He said:
“It is difficult but democracy has happened and you cannot say that members did not have all the facts, I respect their decision.”
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