A councillor has vowed to ‘leave no stone unturned’ in protecting Ryde’s historic former town hall following last night’s devastating fire, as he seeks urgent action from council officers and Police.
Councillor Reuben Loake says he is ‘appalled and angry’ following the blaze at the Grade II-listed building on Lind Street, which broke out shortly before midnight and saw around 35 firefighters mobilised from across the Isle of Wight.
The fire, which was concentrated towards the rear of the former theatre and spread into the roof space, is believed to have been started deliberately.
Councillor Loake visited the scene this morning (Thursday), where he met and thanked firefighters and saw the damage for himself.
He says members of the public were at the Town Hall ‘in tears and disbelief’ following the overnight incident.
Councillor Loake has said:
“I will not leave a stone unturned to ensure everything is done to protect this this iconic and much loved building and I have a meeting with the relevant council officers this morning to escalate what ever enforcement is necessary.
“I have also contacted the Local Area Commander of the Police for an urgent meeting to trace those responsible.”
The intervention comes as fresh questions are raised over the security and future of the long-derelict landmark, which has stood empty since 2010 and was sold by the Isle of Wight Council in 2013.
The Town Hall was withdrawn from auction in December 2025, when it carried a guide price of £650,000, amid efforts to facilitate a community-led acquisition.
However, Ryde Neighbourhood Board decided last month not to pursue the purchase after updated condition reports, an independent valuation and expert advice concluded that acquiring the deteriorating building would expose public money to significant financial risk.
Firefighters from Ryde have returned to the scene this morning to conduct further checks on the fire-damaged structure.
An aerial ladder platform has been utilised to get as close as possible and as safely as possible to the building.
I appreciate the depth of information you’ve shared in this post.
The island desperately requires CCTV
End of!
Word salad ..nothing will happen
I agree very little will happen this side of never, the comment that got my goat was the hypocrisy of the ryde neighbourhood board who states “acquiring the deteriorating building would expose public money to significiant financial risk”, this is the very same board that hands out money like sweeties to all and sundry, with never a hope of seeing a return on the public money they supposedly care so much about.
He does not want to be turning over too many stones in Ryde generally and in Oakvale in particular.
It is all very well Cllr Loake tub thumping for the benefit of the press and promising to shout at the police and fire services but what exactly does he propose to do in terms of real, concrete action? It is all hot air.
Careful what you find under the stones