DARTMOUTH Town Council has passed a proposal to sell the Guildhall after deeming it too expensive to maintain.

Following months of debate and controversy a majority vote was received at a full council meeting on Monday to put the historic building up for sale.

Eight of the 16 councillors at the meeting agreed to 'move without delay to obtain planning permission to sell the Guildhall' after hearing it made a loss of more than £44,000 last year.

Five councillors voted against, saying the proposal was too hasty, and three councillors abstained.

Cllr Francis Hawke said: 'We would need to spend £60,000 to £100,000 to make the building useable and it's just not viable as bookings are down.

'It would also have a detrimental effect on the Flavel if the Guildhall came back into regular use and that's not what we're trying to achieve.'

Cllr Steve Smith added: 'We could spend £100,000 on the building but would not get our money back, we know what we need to do.'

Other councillors in favour of the proposal suggested that the money saved on the Guildhall could be put towards maintaining the new indoor swimming pool or used to benefit other community projects.

However, Cllr Dave Cawley argued against the proposal, saying the Guildhall was too precious to lose.

He said: 'I have a copy of the last accounts which shows that the building cost of £21,000 – even a small office with overheads would cost £12,000 a year.

'A small office would save us just £9,000 but in doing so would lose a huge asset that the people of Dartmouth did not want sold. The Guildhall is a large building and is used by over two dozen local organisations who will now have to find a new home.'

Several councillors voiced concerns about selling the grade two listed building before assessing alternative options, including selling offices next door or encouraging local businesses to relocate to the Guildhall.

Cllr Hayley Rundle asked mayor Cllr Paul Allen if sufficient public opinion had been sought about the future of the building, to which he replied that councillors have already spoken to their relevant boroughs.

Several local residents attended the meeting and shook their heads as the proposal was agreed.

Peter Norton said: 'The Guildhall's future is rightly under consideration, but the discussion was depressing and some of the councillors had made up their minds without considering some of the relevant factors.

'It's a great shame for Dartmouth that there wasn't any more thought put to the future of our heritage.'

The town council will discuss how to move forward with the proposal including where to hold future council meetings.

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