ABINGDON’S Guildhall could be taken over by the town council to save tens of thousands of pounds each year for council taxpayers.

The Vale of White Horse District Council and the town council have been holding discussions about the possibility of the town council taking over the management of the civic hall in Abbey Close.

In February last year, the Vale council warned it was considering shutting or selling both the Guildhall and Wantage Civic Hall because of the running costs.

During the past week, town council staff and town council leader Lesley Legge have visited civic halls outside the county to see how they are run.

And, on November 16, town councillors are expected to decide whether they can go ahead with the takeover.

Matt Prosser, strategic director for the Vale, said the Guildhall, which has been managed by the council since local government reorganisation in 1974, cost £100,000 a year to run. He said savings of about £40,000 a year could be made if the town council opted to establish a separate halls trust.

He said: “If the town council formalised a trust they would have the non-domestic business rate saving of £40,000 a year.

“It is not an easy time for the public sector and we have to look at all sorts of ways of reducing our costs.

“Transferring the building to the town council, which keeps lots of its artefacts there, could be a way of reducing costs.”

Town council leader Lesley Legge said: “This opportunity has come forward from the Vale so the town council is looking at it very seriously.

“Both the Vale and the town council want to make sure that the future of the Guildhall is secure for the town.

“The building is a town facility and, therefore, it is a responsibility the town could take. We feel it is something we could run, but we obviously have to make sure that is the case.”

Mrs Legge said: “The town council has an annual budget of just over £1m so we need to look at this decision very carefully.”

In a statement issued on behalf of the town council, Mrs Legge said that “negotiations regarding the possible transfer of service need to be dealt with confidentially between the two authorities at this stage”.

The statement added: “The town council has been exploring the possibility of the town assuming responsibility for this facility from the Vale of White Horse District Council. This has involved undertaking work to look at the various ways forward with the aim that this facility remains at the heart of the community.”

Abingdon’s deputy mayor Alistair Fear said: “We have visited a number of different halls to see the different ways they are run. A not-for-profit trust is one possibility.”

Mr Prosser said: “It is impossible to completely wipe out the running costs unless your income is greater than the running costs. However, you don’t want to charge the community groups commercial rates and the challenge for the Roysse Room in the Guildhall is to get commercial groups paying commercial rates.”

Mr Prosser said the oldest section of the Guildhall was a listed building, with the Abbey Hall extension built in the 1960s. He said there were no plans at this stage for a similar arrangement with Wantage Town Council for Wantage Civic Hall.

Abingdon town clerk Nigel Warner confirmed that the deal was likely to be discussed at a meeting of the town council on Tuesday, November 16.

Ms Legge said it was likely the discussions would remain confidential and not open to the public.