THE people of Herefordshire will be asked if they are prepared to pay for the backlog of work needed to address the “appalling” state of Hereford Town Hall, along with funding of other council-owned buildings in the county.

This was among ten recommendations for the iconic grade II* listed building in the city centre which were unanimously agreed by Herefordshire Council’s general scrutiny committee this week.

No formal decision has yet been made to dispose of the building, either by handing over control to Hereford City Council, currently based there, or by sale on the open market.

Committee chair Coun Jonathan Lester, who also leads the council Conservative group, said: “We don’t know when the decision will be made.”

But the committee heard that immediate action was required to address a weak beam in the building. “If that collapses, the front of the building might collapse,” according to LibDem councillor Louis Stark.

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Independents for Herefordshire councillor David Summers said: “It’s a beautiful building but there is rainwater ingress and the state of the third floor in particular is disgraceful.”

His call for immediate installation of dehumidifiers to address a black mould problem was among the measures agreed on.

His colleague Coun Tracy Bowes said: “The problem is the endless amount of money required. It’s not the only listed building we have. But we don’t have the skills or the funding to maintain them.”

Cabinet member Coun Gemma Davies said: “There are so many competing demands on council money. We aren’t selling it to make a profit, but to address the maintenance costs.”

When the council earlier asked residents to list their priorities for council spending, “property maintenance came lowest, whereas reducing the council’s asset base was placed high”, she added. “The option to keep it isn’t there.”

Coun Stark said Hereford City Council ought to contribute to the costs through higher local precepts, rather than the residents elsewhere in the county “having to pay twice”.

But the building could make more money than the £29,000 it took in last year, according to True Independents councillor Sebastian Bowen.

“Once you’ve sold the family silver, it’s gone,” he added. “People have begged me to keep it in public ownership.” It was agreed that the building should remain open for public use regardless of how it is disposed of.

It has been valued at just £75,000, given the huge backlog of work required, put at £1.8 million.

“It would take more like £3.6 million to get in a proper state of repair,” leader of the council David Hitchiner said.

“We would give it to the city council for £1 but they don’t want it either because of the liability.”

Selling it on the open market meanwhile “would mean it would be turned into a Wetherspoons”, according to Conservative councillor Paul Rone.

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