Town hall faces demolition threat

The council says the hall costs taxpayers £35,000 a year

A Lincolnshire town hall will be demolished unless a sustainable plan is drawn up for its future, council bosses have said.

East Lindsey District Council has given £6,000 to a working group to develop a business case for Horncastle Town Hall, which is currently boarded up.

However, campaigners say the facility should be opened up immediately.

The council said the hall costed taxpayers £35,000 a year to run - a cost it cannot afford to keep paying.

The authority also said the building would need at least £280,000 of maintenance and repair work over the next five years.

'Great affection'

Jane Froggatt, strategic director at the district council, said: "We appreciate that the local community has great affection for the building but the district council simply cannot afford to continue paying these substantial costs for a building we no longer have a use for.

"The future of the town hall lies firmly in the hands of the working group."

However, Bill Aron, a town councillor, said business plans have been drawn up in the past and he was frustrated at having to go through another hurdle.

He said: "We have done a feasibility study that was shown to be robust and we've done a draft business plan and a final business plan.

"We're now working on the business case. We do believe that every time we've achieved what they've asked, the goal posts have previously been moved."