Press Release

The Old Town Hall remains unsold . An online auction today, held by agents Allsop LLP, failed to attract any bids at all.

The Grade 2 listed building was put up for sale in the summer by receivers appointed after the collapse of Aestrom OTH Ltd, the company set up to restore the building. Planning consent was granted for conversion to upmarket short-let apartments, hotel rooms, an indoor market and office space. Aestrom collapsed into administration before work could start on conversion.

‘It’s disappointing that no-one came forward to take this amazing building on’ said Valerie Bayliss, chair of the Friends of the Old Town Hall. ‘In some ways we aren’t surprised. We know the potential costs of restoration are high, and in the present climate that’s a challenge. But only a few months ago the agents were saying there was a lot of interest. Where did it all go? We thought then that the original asking price, of £1.35m, was unrealistic. But even with an auction guide price of £750,00 there were no takers’.

The problem posed by the Old Town Hall is significant. ‘The City Council is keen to regenerate Castlegate, and was fortunate enough be successful with a substantial bid to the Government’s Levelling-Up Fund, as they have just announced. ‘But we know – after 7 years’ hard work on assessing the condition of the building, and what could be done with it, how critical it will be to the future of the whole area’, said Valerie. ‘If Castlegate is to be revived the Old Town Hall has to be sorted, and if the Old Town Hall is to be sorted then Castlegate has to be sorted. The two are interdependent’.

The Council is well aware of this. Its leader, Councillor Terry Fox, said in June that ‘A solution to bring new life to the Old Town Hall must be found in order to retain the heritage value of the building but to also play a key role in the wider regeneration of the Castlegate area. We will be looking at what we can do to ensure that a valuable development goes ahead, be that by supporting another developer-led proposition or exploring how the public sector can facilitate delivery’.

‘It’s time for some serious thinking’ said Valerie Bayliss today. ‘We call on the City Council to do just that and to seek out partners to develop a practical and feasible solution. It won’t be a quick or easy ask, but the city can’t afford to leave the building to rot any longer’.