Letters: ‘Lymington town hall likely to be axed’

In the A&T article headed ‘Meeting on NFDC-axe revamp’ (27th Dec) you report the mayor of Lymington and Pennington saying the town hall could be lost if plans to axe NFDC go ahead. He added the town council was exploring “every option available” to keep the building in public use. This ties in with a local campaign by his party. However, there is evidence here of some economy with the truth.

First of all, the town council was advised by the NFDC in October that there were no plans to renew the leases granted to the council and the other tenants of the town hall when they expired in 2027. We were told the site would be sold either in part or in its entirety. This was no surprise, as it had been earmarked for redevelopment since 2012 and part of it (owned by Hampshire County Council) has been virtually unused for four years.

Secondly, at a meeting later in October when this news was discussed, the council agreed unanimously with my proposal to set up a working group. This was to look at the future options for the council but not “every option available” to keep the existing building in public use. Given the current underuse of the site and the excessive cost of heating and maintaining the building, it seemed highly unlikely that retaining it would be a viable option whoever is in power.

Thirdly, while NFDC have not come forward with plans for the site, there is no suggestion that the town council would be without an office in the town. Indeed, one possible solution is the construction of a new hub that would include the police station, a locality office for the NFDC (or whoever might replace them under Labour’s plans) and other community organisations.

So, the town hall is likely to go whether the NFDC is axed or not. In fact, a better use of the site with some modern community offices and a residential development (but not retirement flats!) and perhaps with HCC providing a care home to replace Solent Mead would be good for Lymington and good for the keeping our council tax down.

Cllr Alan Penson

Lymington