• Council fails to rule out sale of Portslade Town Hall;

• Conservatives say historic building provides council services and space for the community and must be retained;

• Cllr Steve Bell says he will fight to stop the sale.

Conservative Group Leader Steve Bell has said that Brighton & Hove City Council must not sell Portslade Town Hall, after the Administration refused to rule out a sale at last night’s Full Council meeting.

The historic building first became used as a Town Hall on 2nd September 1959, having been bought by the Portslade Urban District Council, which was seeking larger offices.

The building ceased to be the local seat of government when Portslade was absorbed into the Hove Borough Council in 1974.  Hove Borough Council was then absorbed itself into Brighton and Hove Borough Council in 1997.

The Conservative Administration in the City in 2011 provided to funds to refurbish Portslade Town Hall to bring it back into use as a service and community hub for local residents.  The refurbishment was funded by the disposal of land nearby.

The newly refurbished Town Hall reopened in in 2014 with new offices for the City Council’s local housing team and neighbourhood policing team, alongside community facilities with rooms to hire for local groups.

Residents still access their housing services at Portslade Town Hall today.

Amid concerns in the community about the Administration’s budget, Cllr Carol Theobald asked a question at the Full Council meeting about whether the Council was planning to sell Portslade Town Hall.

The administration would not confirm or deny whether it was planning to sell the building.

Portslade Town Hall is designated by Brighton and Hove City Council as an historic building, with the listing noting that it has:

• Historic and Evidential Interest - as a Reminder of when Portslade was its own administrative centre, separate to Brighton and Hove.

• Townscape interest – making a positive contribution to the street scene, which is otherwise eroded.

• Forming and local focal point in the area - retaining a sense of completeness, the symmetry of the design is still clearly apparent.

Conservative Group Leader Steve Bell CBE said that the Conservatives would fight to stop the sale of Portslade Town Hall:

“I was Gob smacked when the Green Administration refused to deny they were considering selling off the historic building which has served the residents in and around Portslade for 64 years” Cllr Bell said.

“The sale of Portslade Town Hall would be a devastating blow for local residents who rely on the Town Hall on a regular basis for some basic services and so many local groups use the Town Hall.

“Its community value far out ways the financial gain this administration is looking to find to offset its failings with its own fiscal management.

“As Conservatives we will fight to stop the sale of Portslade Town Hall” he said.

ENDS.