Council looks at helping historic hall

Oakham’s town council is considering stepping in to help secure the future of an historic hall.

This autumn the council gave an emergency grant of almost £3,000 to Victoria Hall after a drop in income and rising costs had left it at risk of not being able to pay its bills.

Now the council will discuss at its meeting on Wednesday whether to provide longer term financial support for the hall and enter into a legal agreement.

The councillors will vote on whether to ‘investigate’ a more formal relationship and to put £3,000 towards gaining legal advice.

Council chairman Paul Ainsley told the Local Democracy Reporting Service there could be a ‘possibility’ of the council moving back into the hall, which used to be its home until a few years ago.  He said discussions would proceed once the wider council had agreed whether it was in favour of the partnership.

The council report ahead of the meeting says: “In recent years Victoria Hall has encountered significant financial difficulties, jeopardizing its ability to operate. Recent grants from the town council have provided temporary relief but long-term solutions are needed. It should also be noted that the building requires major works such as a boiler replacement, toilet refurbishment and decoration throughout. 

“In order to secure the longer-term future of Victoria Hall, OTC looks to work closely with the trustees to explore possible options.

For effective collaboration, there is a need to establish a legal framework to protect any public money and also to ensure that the trustees are able to do what they do best, which is to run the hall on a day-to-day basis for the benefit of the community. 

Clearly, there is a lot of work to be done, and this work will need to be guided by legal experts to protect public money and the charitable status of the building.”

The hall on Oakham’s High Street, which this celebrated its 125th anniversary, has secured some funds to replace its boiler, but needs match funding.

Trustee Joanne Burrows said: “We are in the very early stages of what might be possible and acceptable to both parties.”