Warminster Preservation Trust AGM 2013
The Annual General Meeting of the Warminster Preservation Trust was held in the Arn Room at Warminster Civic Centre on Tuesday 14th May 2013, commencing at 7.00 p.m.
Apologies for absence were received from trustee Lucinda Phillips. The other five trustees, namely Chris March, Diana Miller, Ian Walker, Elisabeth Collyns, and Michael Heaton were all present.
The minutes of the previous AGM were circulated and agreed. The accounts for the year past show that the Trust has financial assets of approx £29,000 and further monies bring the total to approx £37,000. There had been very little financial movement since 2011. The accounts were approved.
The trustees were all re-elected en-bloc.
A discussion, with public participation, then followed, with regard the on-going situation of the Old Town Hall in the centre of the Market Place, Warminster. It is the aim of the Warminster Preservation Trust to acquire this building for community use and, in so doing, maintain its appearance in an attractive way, to encourage local people and visitors to take more pride in Warminster as a place for living, working, shopping and doing business.
At open days held by the Trust, money had been donated by local people towards the cost of purchasing and restoring the building. The majority of this money has since been returned to those who donated.
The Old Town Hall was purchased by Peter Caldwell or his company for £155,000 (privately after an auction failed to meet the reserve). Some work had been carried out, to begin with, cleaning the exterior of the building, at the expense of Mr. Caldwell or his assigns, and the Warminster Preservation Trust has paid for the cleaning of the clock on the north-facing side of the building.
Chris March has consulted with estate agents and was of the opinion that there has been a fall in property values of 20%. He reckoned the Old Town Hall has a current market value of between only £50,000 and £70,000.
Chris March also said it was regretable that the Old Town Hall is constantly seen as an empty eyesore in the centre of the town, with its problem with pigeons, when in the near vicinity progress is being made with other buildings. He mentioned the plans by J.D. Wetherspoon to revamp the Bath Arms, the transformation of the former military supplies stores at the High Street into the Dominos pizza take-away, and that scaffolding was up and around No.3 High Street (stopping it falling down), with a developer about to restore that building.
Chris March went on to say that good initiatives are under way in Warminster, such as Enterprise Warminster, but the Old Town Hall, if left to languish, could blight any hope of encouraging further business and outside investment into Warminster.
It was noted that Mr. James Beanland, of Warminster, has applied to Wiltshire Council for a licence to sell alcohol and play music, in the basement of the Old Town Hall, using it as a cocktail bar. The basement has been used for this purpose in previous years.
It was also noted that the staircase, which connects the ground floor with the basement floor, has been removed, allegedly contrary to planning regulations (the Old Town Hall is a listed building and permission is needed to make alterations). Unfortunately, it seems the relevant department of Wiltshire Council is apparently showing no sign of investigating this matter or taking any action against the perpetrators.
Warminster Preservation Trust has been negotiating with Mr. Caldwell, to obtain the building, but progress has been annoyingly slow. It seems that buying the building with a tenant leasing the basement could hinder any future plans the Trust may want to consider for other use of the building, and could also prevent Heritage Lottery funding and other grant aid being obtained by the Trust. Funding would be forthcoming if the building was acquired in its entirety and fully freehold.
It was agreed that the Trust will contact Mr. Caldwell, making it known that the Trust’s preference is to purchase all of the Old Town Hall freehold.
The meeting ended at 8.15 p.m.
Discussing the fate of the Old Town Hall,
left to right: Chris March, Diana Miller,
Ian Walker, Elisabeth Collyns
and Michael Heaton.