A BID to transform a well-used community facility in Chepstow will not succeed if issues with its ownership are not ironed out, according to the chair of trustees.

In February the Drill Hall received £50,000 from the Big Lottery to fund the next stage of a programme which could see the hall awarded up to £1.1 million in funding.

There are nine similar schemes left in Wales at this stage of the bid, and just four or five of them will receive funding, giving the Drill Hall approximately a 50 per cent chance of being successful.

If successful the hall would undergo extensive renovations including an upgraded roof, new kitchen and facilities plus showers for the Chepstow Boxing Club which also uses the facility.

It would also allow for the hiring of full-time hall manager and fund courses and classes at the hall.

The building, which is currently owned by Monmouthshire County Council, has been leased by Chepstow Town Council since 2008. This lease, which has a further 11 years to run, would have to be ended and ownership of the hall transferred to a newly-formed charity for the lottery bid to have any chance of being successful.

An exhibition of the plans was held on Sunday (23rd July), with residents welcomed to see the designs for the Drill Hall. More than 500 paper questionnaires to allow residents to comment on the plans have also been completed.

Today (26th July) Ned Heywood MBE, chairman of the Drill Hall board of trustees and town councillor for the St Mary’s ward, will make a presentation to Chepstow Town Council about the hall.

In his report, he says: “The extensions and adaptions to the Drill Hall will make it possible to host two or three activity groups at the same time. Toilet provision (much commented on in our public consultations) is much increased, those available to females increased from four to nine cubicles.

“If the town council decides not to transfer the lease in the event of the lottery bid being successful it would be turning its back on over £1 million investment in a community facility which could be in the hands of the people of Chepstow forever, far more secure in the future than if it is owned by a cash-strapped local authority.

“The Drill Hall is currently well used and with the much improved facilities provided by successful lottery bid it will provide many more opportunities particularly for daytime activities.

“It will enhance the community, creative and artistic lives of generations of Chepstownians.”

However there have been some concerns raised about the future of the hall, brought to light when Chepstow town councillor Lisset Burrett released a leaflet claiming residents had come to her concerned about the circumstances surrounding the lottery bid.

“We cannot let a publicly-owned asset such as this be given away,” she said.

“I have also been contacted by a number of hall users who are concerned that there are worrying conflicts of interest regarding the self-appointed management committee who have now elected themselves as trustees of the new organisation,” she added.

These claims were challenged by Cllr Heywood in a written response titled ‘The Drill Hall, The Truth’, where he claimed the leaflet contained “many inaccuracies.”

Following the presentation at tonight’s Chepstow Town Council meeting, an extraordinary meeting will be called to make a decision on the future of the Drill Hall at a later date.