By Craig Evry

THE FUTURE of Codford Village Hall is in doubt after the management committee revealed debts of £10,000 have to be repaid before vital maintenance work can be funded.

Villagers will be asked to vote on a scheme to sell a piece of land to businessman David Webb later this month, in a bid to raise the money.

The management committee had to borrow money from villagers last year to pay £16,000 towards a new sewage treatment plant.

The problems arose when Brindle Development built a new village hall in 1992 in return for a piece of development land.

The developers built 14 houses and installed a new sewage plant to serve both the new estate and village hall, but the increased amount of waste quickly highlighted the system's inadequacies and left the village hall facing closure.

After raising the money towards the new plant from local villagers, the management committee is now faced with having to repay the debts before vital maintenance and renovation work can be carried out.

Parish council chairman Romy Wyeth said the council was unwilling to increase the precept in the village to fund the project, and the sale of land to Webb's Motor Caravans may be the only option.

She said: "A year later the management committee still owe £10,000 but there are other problems that need to be sorted out like the gutters and soakaways.

"The village has been unaware that there is this major problem.

"The parish council were not happy about this as we have always set the precept modestly."

She added: "It is a nightmare. It is too complicated an issue for just a hands-up at a meeting.

"The thing about Codford is that we are very democratic and if land was going to be sold there is no way the village wouldn't be asked."

A village meeting is due to be held on November 20, with ballot boxes available in New Road Service Station and Codford Stores during the weekend before the meeting.

A leaflet explaining the situation will be posted to each house over the next few days.