THE historic Birkenhead town hall will not be sold and is to be retained for council use – for the time being.
The authority had marketed the town hall – even creating a website for the listed building – but says market conditions have put a halt to the plans.
The town hall had been declared a surplus asset as part of the council’s review of its buildings as it attempts to cut costs, and it had been hoped a private buyer could be found.
One bidder – The Hamilton Partnership (THP) which includes former Scaffold member John Gorman – had hoped to use the building to create The John Peel Centre for community use, innovation and the creative arts.
But the future of the building was eventually decided by a £1.3m repair bill, and a request by THP to grant it a three-year lease at a peppercorn rent to test the feasibility of the project with an option for a further long-term lease.
