FRUSTRATED residents on a Trowbridge estate were preparing to barrack councillors for help last night to end a long-running row over their community centre.

Members of Paxcroft Mead Community Centre's management committee were calling on councillors to block Marshgate's plans to build three shops on the estate, until they have signed over the building's lease to trustees.

Declining bookings, a mounting repair bill and disillusioned residents are among problems leaving the future of the hall in doubt. Instead of becoming a beacon for the community, residents said the centre's success has been severely hampered by the long-standing ownership row.

Committee secretary Sarah Content led the calls for district councillors to make a stand, to bring an end to two-years of uncertainty.

Her speech said: "While we have no objections to the proposed further development around our centre, we have serious misgivings about the granting of permission for it to proceed at the moment.

"In an area such as Trowbridge, where the developers are keen to move in left, right and centre, we, the management committee, believe it is about time that we stopped kowtowing to the developers' every whim and start ensuring they fulfil their promises and create areas that meet the needs and wants of our communities."

In April a make-or-break meeting was held following a double resignation from the management committee and fears the shutters could be brought down for good.

District council solicitor Simon Best stepped in to iron out the problems over the lease, but a planned meeting between all parties scheduled for the start of this month has never happened.

Committee members are now calling for Marshgate to pay for all repairs, reimburse lost income, rectify a sound problem within the hall and hold a "constructive meeting" to hand over the lease, before support is given for further development.

District councillors were due to meet last night to discuss Marshgate's application for three retail units at Hackett Place. A report from planning officers gave the plans the go-ahead if measures were taken to reduce the risk of vandalism and crime a growing problem on the estate.