THE future of a community hall in Christchurch town centre hangs in the balance as councillors prepare to discuss potential options for the site.

Plans for Druitt Hall are to be debated in a meeting held by Christchurch Town Council on Tuesday evening.

Members will consider the decision of the resources committee to allocate £74,000 for window replacement works, which had seen costs "higher than we would have expected", according to a town council report.

Councillors will be asked to decide on a "clear strategic direction" for Druitt Hall.

It is recommended that they either decide to continue with the window replacement or halt and come back at a later date with details on "alternative options". This could include consultation and community engagement before any major decision.

Druit Hall has long been a topic of conversation for councillors in the ancient borough.

A plan to redevelop the hall site was launched by Christchurch Borough Council in 2012, but following a long campaign, the facility was saved and given an initial three-year lease in 2014, followed by a further 10-year extension in 2017.

In November 2020, the town council's community committee meeting highlighted the need for its refurbishment, and in May 2021, the Daily Echo reported that almost £250,000 worth of repair works were needed.

Some councillors have previously suggested that rather than repairing the site, completely rebuilding it could be more beneficial.

In November 2020, BCP and town councillor Simon McCormack told the Daily Echo: “Druitt Hall has been part of the community for a long time, but as a semi-qualified building surveyor myself, I think it has come to the end of its life.

“I believe the town council should really be exploring if there was an opportunity to either fix or repair the current building, which I think is unlikely given its construction, or be looking to perhaps replace it with something that would benefit Christchurch in the future in a much better way.”

The proposal to replace the site sparked upset among residents, and now many are concerned that if the window replacement scheme is not implemented, councillors may revert to plans of a complete rebuild.

Supporters of Druitt Hall have urged people to attend Tuesday evening's meeting from around 6.45pm at Christchurch Library in an attempt to urge councillors  to ‘save’ the existing facility for future generations.