Council handover of historic Town Hall falls through

Craven Council is to set up a trust to manage Skipton Town Hall after rejecting a bid to transfer the historic building to a heritage trust.

The local authority’s policy committee has decided not to approve the transfer of the town hall, museum and tourist information centre to The Heritage Trust for the North West (HTNW).

Following a detailed evaluation of the business plan submitted by HTNW, councillors concluded that the terms proposed by the trust do not meet the legal requirements approved by the council’s Policy Committee in June 2011.

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Craven Council leader Coun Chris Knowles-Fitton said: “This was both a sad and very difficult decision for members. Skipton Town Hall is an iconic building with deep emotional attachment to members, particularly those representing Skipton wards. However we have both a moral and legal duty to safeguard the town hall and ensure it remains at the heart of our community.

“We have very much welcomed and been grateful for the close involvement by the North West Heritage Trust and value its widely recognised expertise in this field but strict legal considerations prevented us from accepting their proposal. It was these legal issues with regard to the procurement process that could, had we accepted the present business plan, have led to future challenge.

“The council will now look to pursue its own arrangements for the future management of Skipton Town Hall to protect and restore this iconic building.”

The local authority will now look to establish a Skipton Town Hall Trust for the future management of the building, which is also home to Craven Museum and Skipton Tourist Information Centre.

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It will also commission a detailed options appraisal for the building’s future use.

Craven Council invited expressions of interest for the 19th century building more than two years ago after agreeing to transfer it to a trust or similar organisation. This followed a review of options for its future which had included selling off the landmark.

At the time Coun Knowles-Fitton had said that transferring the management of the town hall was “the best way to secure a viable future for the building and to get it the investment it needs”.

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