A NEW lease is being negotiated for a community hall in Christchurch.

Christchurch Town Council are ‘actively consulting’ with the management team at Druitt Hall to agree on terms for a new lease.

The lease, which is expected to run into the 2050s, will allow the hall to seek grant funding and secure its future in the market town.

Town Clerk James Sheehy said: “The town council has been holding ongoing consultation with the Druitt Hall management Tteam to ensure the longevity of this much-loved local asset, and to support the management team in its long term funding and renewal goals.

“The council has instructed its solicitors with a view to granting a new thirty-year lease to run into the 2050’s, allowing the hall to seek grant funding opportunities with peace of mind.

“The hall management is being actively consulted on the terms of the lease, and the council anticipates completion of the new tenancy before the 2023 local elections take place.”

Druitt Hall has remained a subject of discussion for the town in recent years, with residents and elected leaders arguing over whether repairing it, or rebuilding it completely, would better shape its future.

Now the facility is set to stay, its management team is in the process of carrying out its own repairs.