Councillors to Approve Transfer of Trusteeship for Presteigne Memorial Hall

SENIOR councillors are set to approve transferring the trusteeship of Presteigne Memorial Hall from Powys County Council to a committee who will run it on behalf of the community.
At a meeting of the council’s Cabinet on Tuesday, July 30 councillors will receive a report to approve the trusteeship transfer as well as employing the services of a legal specialist in Charity Commission Law to “guide and support” the process.
The report said: “In 1953 a Declaration of Trust was created for the memorial hall and within the document it states that the site was bought by local
representatives within the community for the use and benefit of the
residents.”
The council became the trustee for the hall in 1983 although it does not own the building.
The report said: “The hall is a popular building and has been run by a committee who have been funding the day to day running, maintenance and the majority of the statutory inspections in the building.”
In 2023 responsibility for the building was moved between council departments.
This led to an inspection of the hall in March 2023 by the council’s Strategic Property department.
The report said: “Unfortunately the inspection identified that the building was not compliant in a number of safety areas and had to be closed with immediate effect.”
Since then, the council has been working with the former hall committee in a bid to make it safe enough to re-open.
Work that has been conducted includes installing a new fire alarm and emergency lights throughout the building, which has been funded by the council.
During this period talks have been taking place on whether or not to transfer the trusteeship to a new hall committee who would be expected to take full financial control, responsibility, and liability for its management.
This led to a public meeting being held last January at the Youth Centre in Presteigne to gauge support for the proposal.
The report said: “The meeting was successful, and much support was received from individuals, elected representatives, groups and
organisations, such as the Young Farmers Club, local market, and other organisations who have links with local churches, schools and sports clubs.
“The new committee meet once a month to discuss the management of the building.”
Cllr Beverley Baynham is the Powys County Councillor for Presteigne.
Joint leader of the Powys Independents, Cllr Baynham said that the hall had been a “huge asset” to the town and surrounding area for over 70 years.
Cllr Baynham said: “For it to continue to be used as a public building it is imperative the transfer of the trusteeship is concluded as swiftly as possible to the new community group who have stepped forward to act as trustees.
“I am very grateful for the work the council have done over the years but to secure the long term future of the hall I believe the transfer to the new trustees is the only way to ensure the facility will be open and available for community use once again.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​