An ultimatum has been handed to Ryde Town Council over the future of Ryde Town Hall – and they have until the end of the month to make a decision.
Despite discussions with the owner to buy the historic building, another offer has been put on the table which means Ryde Town Council (RTC) have to work out what its next step will be or lose their chance to own the building.
Speaking at an RTC meeting on Monday, Mayor of Ryde Michael Lilley said an extraordinary meeting will be called next Wednesday (14th July) to discuss what to do, following the delivery of a feasibility and viability study.
Funding from Historic England was provided, through the Heritage Action Zone, to commission the study of the town hall and theatre but with the caveat the study would be made public.
Councillor Lilley said:
“The study will be available over the next week. At the meeting, there will be a presentation and decision for us to go to the next stage of purchasing or starting the process with the owner.
“The owner has got another offer on the building and has said after giving us two years to come up with an offer he is not willing to go further than July with discussions.
“Cllr Phil Jordan [chair of RTC’s Acquisitions and Finance committee] felt it was important to have the study presented to the council and community. I have seen the draft and it is comprehensive on the viability.”
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The council voted last November to agree a 3-year lease of the building with an option to buy it.
The building has been empty since 2013 when the Isle of Wight Council sold the venue to a private developer but in recent months, the hall and theatre have been broken into and vandalised.
RTC previously applied for £7million funding from the Lottery Heritage to restore the building but were unsuccessful — one reason being that they did not own it.
After yesterday’s meeting, Councillor Jordan said they are now finally in a place to bring forward a motion, asking RTC to buy the building. He said:
“We have seen drafts of the study and we know, once it has been restored, the building is able to sustain itself going forward into the future.”
Cllr Jordan said the study will help the council apply for grant funding to help return the building to community, mixed leisure use.
If the council take on the building, Cllr Jordan said it would see the town council’s offices put back in there and other interested parties like the NHS and CCG occupy space.
so the council sold it, the new owner has left it to fall into disrepair and now the council are being asked to buy it back again, to restore it.
the current owner must be laughing all the way to the bank with this level of incompetence.
either force the current owner to do something with it or leave it and spend the taxpayers on something radical – like the islands residents whose money it is.
Who could have predicted that selling off assets would result in no longer owing or controlling them?
Seriously though, does anyone know anything about the new bidder or their plans for the building?
Yes another rundown eyesore what a bloody dump this Island has become.
Just leave it to rot like all the other places that are empty. Add to the pile of shite.
Should never have been sold in the first place! It was the TOWN HALL of Ryde, the place where you went to sort things out in the ‘old’ days, and where you could go to talk about your rates or make appointments to see council employees etc. Stopping all that was utter madness, like so much else that has happened and does happen nowadays.
so if the council are wanting to be open and transparent and the study and reports are to be presented to the community then why is the meeting on the 14th July about the purchase behind closed door??????
This would never have been allowed to happen in Trumpton! There the local Town Hall was treated with respect and not just sold off to the highest bidder in some no doubt “money saving” exercise. Is the main requirement of being in charge of decisions on the council that you have to have the total lack of a functioning brain?