Dartmouth town councillors could end up doing U-turn over a Guildhall sell-off.

And residents could still have the chance of taking part in a referendum to decide the future of the 'town hall' building.

Less than a fortnight after the council made a 'final' decision to put the rambling old listed headquarters building up for sale, councillors are trying to get that motion rescinded.

They claim the decision made on Monday. August 6, was too rushed.

And at least one councillor claims that the meeting was misled over just how much of a financial burden the Guildhall is.

Now Cllr David Gent is collecting signatures from his fellow councillors backing the move to have the original decision scrapped.

If he can get at least half the 16 town councillors on board and can come up with fresh information, the future of the Guildhall will be up for debate all over again.

And he has not ruled out the possibility that residents could be asked to make the decision themselves in a referendum.

'I have promises of sufficient signatures already,' said Cllr Gent who actually voted in favour of the sell-off in the town council vote.

'I have undertaken that by the end of this week I will let the mayor have a document that should allow a new debate on the subject.'

Meanwhile, Cllr Dave Cawley – who has consistently opposed the sale of the Guildhall – claims the councillors were 'misled' over just how much the Guildhall costs taxpayers.

He said the council had been informed that the building loses more than £40,000 a year when the actual loss is £21,000 – with the difference coming down to staff costs.

He said the £40,000 was a 'composite figure and declared: 'Quite clearly the town councillors were misled.

'There were people who were confused and did not understand what was happening and people who were genuinely misled,' he said.

He claims that even the smallest office space for the town council would leave it with £12,000 a year overheads.

'If the Guildhall is costing us just £9,000 a year then it is a brilliant asset,' he said.

He added the jury is still out on whether the town council should sell the building and claims it needs a business study involving what the Guildhall could be sold as, how much it would bring in and just where the town council could re-locate before any decision is made.

Dartmouth has been talking for years about the future of the listed building where it holds its town council meetings and rents out ballroom and meeting room facilities.

This month's town council meeting was supposed to sort out a final decision as eight of the 16-strong town council agreed 'to move without delay to obtain planning permission to sell the Guildhall'.

Five of the councillors voted against the proposal and three of them abstained.

The town council is now waiting for architects' reports on just how the Guildhall could be developed for residential, office or other use before applying for a relevant planning permission.

But that could all change if Cllr Gent gets his way and forces the council to rescind the sell-off decision.

He said: 'What I want to do is replace the original decision, which was rushed into, with a more detailed resolution which will call for a more detailed look at what we are going to do and where we are going to go.

'On top of that, it would include a commitment to consult local opinion. That might be with a public meeting or a referendum. We do not know yet.

'We have been talking about what we do with the Guildhall for quite a long time.

'It does not matter if it takes another two or three months.'

He added: 'It is daft to decide to sell the Guildhall when it has not been worked out sensibly where we are going to go.'

He said it might be best to call a special council meeting which can be devoted to the Guildhall debate in its entirety.