TOWN councillors in Marlborough have been told they should consider relinquishing control of the town hall because of escalating maintenance costs.

There was little support, however, for Coun Stewart Dobson when he said the council should explore the possible benefits of letting the hall be run by trustees.

The town hall has been run by the council for more than 100 years, but its exterior stonework is crumbling away and the lettering of the foundation stone, laid in 1901 by the Marchioness of Ailesbury, has eroded.

Councillors were told the supports for the guttering around the top of the building have begun to sag badly, drainpipes leak and water is getting through the roof into the first floor Assembly Room.

A year ago the cost of carrying out external repairs was put at £150,000 by a local architect.

But this figure was dismissed at Monday's meeting of the council's recreation and amenities committee by retired chartered surveyor Alan Crane, who has recently been responsible for voluntarily overseeing the £275,000 restoration at St Peter's Church.

He was at the meeting to discuss ways of improving access for the disabled to the town hall.

But he heard councillors discussing whether to phase the restoration of the exterior of the town hall over five years at £30,000, or to borrow money from the council's reserves and pay for the work to be carried out as soon as possible.

Mr Crane suggested that costs could be kept down by inviting some of the the town's retired professional surveyors and architects, or St Peter's Trust members, who have experience of raising money for large-scale restoration work, to advise the council on ways of seeking professional help and funding.

He said: "The sum of £150,000 which has been mentioned tonight will not go very far. The scaffolding alone at St Peter's cost £50,000."

Mr Crane said the council should tackle only essential structural repairs and leave any cosmetic improvements to another time.

Coun Dobson, the longest serving member with 30 years experience, said he was concerned that by continually borrowing from reserves to pay for repairs and maintenance to the town hall the council could eventually bankrupt itself.

He said: "Our balances are shrinking and we are not far off the time when we will not have any balances left.

"If we are not careful we are going to bankrupt ourselves."

"We have to look as a town, to see if we want to retain the ownership of this town hall."

The town clerk, Graham Gittins, pointed out that in the past two years the town hall had broken even compared to the £50,000-a-year deficit in previous years.

Coun Dobson said: "It might run to budget but it does not generate the hundreds of thousands of pounds needed to maintain it."

Coun Ian Perryman suggested one alternative might be to launch a public appeal for funds to restore the town hall.

Coun Bryan Castle said he believed that the town council should think laterally and consider other ways of running the building.

Councillors agreed to have a detailed survey to see what the exterior repairs are likely to cost.

Improvements will be needed to the disabled access after surveyors said the temporary ramp was inadequate.