Burnham-On-Sea town councillors have voted in favour of opening talks with the district council on the possibility of taking over the management and running of the town’s closure-threatened Princess Hall.
Last month, we reported how the building (pictured right) could be shut down unless a new organisation could be found to take it on.
The current owner, Sedgemoor District Council, is embarking on a cost-cutting exercise and wants a new organisation to take over its management.
At a meeting of the full town council on Monday night (February 6th) members unanimously voted in favour of “showing an interest” in taking on the management and running of the building.
And Council Clerk Eileen Shaw was tasked by Mayor Eric Gill with “entering into consultation with Sedgemoor while keeping the town council’s Policy and Finance Committee and other members fully informed.”
“There will be no commitments or decisions without consulting the whole of this council,” added Cllr Gill.
Given the delicate nature of the discussions over the future of the building, councillors did not openly debate the subject further.
It comes after a letter seeking ‘expressions of interest’ in the running of the hall was sent to the town council.
Sedgemoor District Council spokeswoman Claire Faun told Burnham-On-Sea.com in January: “As part of this year’s budget proposals we will be seeking to find alternative organisations to manage The Princess in Burnham.”
“We firmly believe halls and buildings of all sizes can be run by local organisations for their communities in a far more appropriate way than by a district Council.”
The comments came just days after the District Council also announced it was trying to sell off Burnham’s swimming pool, as reported here.
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Princess Hall is threatened with closure
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