Trust set to take on running of town hall

Montgomery Town Hall Trust is moving forward with negotiations with the town council as they look to handover the Georgian building to the community group, in an effort to save money and keep the hall for community use.

The trust aims to be in a position to take over in the new financial year, around April time, but is waiting on lease arrangements and final details to be sorted.

Cerys Thomas, chair of the Montgomery Town Hall Trust, said it was set up with the specific view of eventually taking over the town hall.

"It has been planned to do a transfer for a long time," she said.

"One of the reasons is that the town council pays council tax on the town hall, but charitable groups do not have to pay so there is a saving there.

"We are closer to a transfer than we were 10 years ago."

Support

Cerys, who is also a town councillor, said they want the hall to become a proper community asset and for people to use it more.

"The hall meets a lot of community needs and it is the one place in town that can hold large social functions," she added.

"Such a lot goes on here in Montgomery, and we want people to think of the hall as a place they can hold events.

"The council has invested quite a lot in re-doing the building. So the trust will be taking it on in a better condition - it would have been a high risk for the trustees to take it on in a bad condition.

"The council will continue to support the trust and we will work on it together.

"There will be plenty of challenges ahead, but we know people care deeply about the building, and we want to build on the refurbishment the town council has funded to ensure the building is fit for purpose and well-used for the future."

Montgomery Town Hall Trust is holding a public meeting to inform and update the local community on the plans. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 4 at 7.30pm in the town hall.