Ex-mayor in the process of buying town hall building

A former mayor is in the process of purchasing a town hall building after a charity said it could not pay for redevelopment work.

Rob Skoulding said he would use his own funds to buy March Town Hall, in Cambridgeshire, from the March Civic Trust.

Andrew Woollard, the current mayor of March and trustee of the charity, said it would have cost "in the region of £250,000 to £300,000 in essential repair costs over the next couple of years in order to keep it open".

Skoulding said he planned to "fix the extensive maintenance problems" and would "keep it running just the same way that it has been for the last 21 years".

The Town Hall was built in 1900 and was acquired by Cambridgeshire County Council in 1974 for use as a Magistrates' Court.

The court closed in 1998 and was sold to the trustees of March Civic Trust, which was made possible by a donation from Skoulding's parents, Peter and Joan.

Woollard said the trust had "explored all different avenues" to fund the work, but had not been successful.

"An agreement for the sale of the property was agreed, and is currently going through the process with Rob Skoulding," he added.

"Once the sale is completed, the funds from the sale will be invested and used in coordination with the original aims of the trustee from when the property was given to the town.

"The whole process will be a good step forward in order to keep the property open to the public and to March, and the town council will benefit."

Refurbishment was previously carried out by March Civic Trust in 2005 to create facilities for local charities and for Fenland town residents.

Skoulding said in a statement on social media that he wanted to buy the property after being "concerned" it could be turned "into flats, an HMO or a business that would not benefit the community".

He said some businesses would need to leave the building due to "extensive drainage works that urgently need undertaking".

He added that his "main concern" had been 20Twenty, a charity focused on social mobility, which works to ensure that people's opportunities in life are not determined by their background, ensuring their "future was safe and secure".

He said March Civic Trust would need to "undertake structural surveys to ascertain the size of the problem" before a sale could go ahead, due to regulations it must adhere to.

Do you have a story suggestion for Cambridgeshire? Contact us below.

Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.