THE future of Abingdon’s historic Guildhall has been secured in a £1m deal, civic leaders have revealed.

An agreement has been reached that will see Abingdon Town Council take over the loss-making Abbey Close venue from Vale of White Horse District Council.

The town council said it was better placed to bring in more community groups and, therefore, run the building more profitably.

The district council warned last year that it could sell or shut the venue, which loses it £100,000 a year.

But it will now give the town council £1m to run and renovate the building in a bid to get more people to use it.

The deal is expected to be approved by the Vale council in January.

Town council leader Lesley Legge said: “We are delighted that we are now in a position to take over the running of the Guildhall complex for the people of Abingdon.

“We look forward to developing the use of the building, providing greater access and improving the facilities.

“We feel we are in a better position to run this local facility. We will work hard to increase the use of the building and bring in more school groups and dance classes.

“If the deal had not gone ahead, then the Guildhall would have had to close for longer periods during the year, but now its future is assured.”

Mrs Legge said the town council could not say how long it would take before the Guildhall would break even.

She said: “We don’t consider the money from the Vale council to be a gift because running the hall will be a big responsibility.”

Mrs Legge said the town council had no plans in the foreseeable future to raise its council tax precept as a result of the Guildhall deal.

She added that the town council would investigate setting up a charitable trust to run the building to obtain an 80 per cent reduction in business rates set by the Government.

The district council said the £1m deal would not mean an increase in its share of the council tax, as the cash would come from a pot set aside for building projects.

Matt Prosser, strategic director for the Vale, said: “If this agreement had not gone ahead, the operation of the Guildhall would have been very different. It’s grade II-listed, so you could not simply have closed it.”

Richard Webber, deputy leader of the Vale council, said: “Councillors and officers have worked hard on this for the past 18 months and we do feel this is a clever and unusual coming together of the needs and capabilities of the two councils.”

The Vale council had cut annual Guildhall losses from £183,000 to £100,000 by axing three staff and changing staffing rotas.

l The oldest section of the Guildhall is a listed building and the Roysse Room is thought to date back to 1563.

The Abbey Hall extension was built in the 1960s, and the Vale ran it from 1974.