Bath and North East Somerset Council came under fierce criticism by Midsomer Norton Town Council on Monday evening as Councillors discussed the historically sore subject of asset transfer, so that the Town Council can lease both the Town Hall and Orchard Hall from B&NES and have more control over the buildings' long-term futures.

Councillors are angry that the situation, which some say has taken 8–9 years to get this far, will once again now stall. B&NES successfully managed an asset transfer to Peasedown St John Parish Council for the Beacon Hall, for a peppercorn rent, and spent over £660,000 on the Victoria Hall renovations, which is now running as a thriving community centre, managed by the Susan Hill School of Dance.

And now, Midsomer Norton Town Councillors are asking why investment cannot be made in the same way for the Town Hall – when they are ready and willing to do the hard work.

At a B&NES Cabinet meeting at the end of last year, a question was raised as to why the process was taking so long. They received the following written reply from Councillor David Bellotti (Cabinet member for Community Resources): 'Discussions that Midsomer Norton Town Council had with the Council before June 2013 are not a matter for the Cabinet, as Midsomer Norton Town Council chose to deal only with officers.

'After a meeting in June 2013, I took a personal interest in ensuring this Community Asset Transfer could take place. Between June 2013 and July 2014, I attended three site visits in Midsomer Norton and four other meetings in Bath, with representatives of Midsomer Norton Town Council. At every meeting, new issues were raised by these representatives, who, at every opportunity, wanted the Council to guarantee to spend more on works before the transfer.

'In September 2014, I was happy to finally agree the terms of a transfer, but then received further representations. If there is any delay now, it is with Midsomer Norton Town Council's solicitors or the Town Council.'

However, the Town Council argued on Monday that a six-month hold-up had taken place last year, allegedly due to a legal letter not being responded to by B&NES officers. Mayor of Midsomer Norton, Councillor Paul Myers, said he was "Disgusted", therefore, when presented with the emerging draft lease by solicitors just before Christmas. The Town Council says that from the very beginning, the two parties had discussed a full repairing lease based on a 'schedule of condition' report. To this end, the Town Council had commissioned a detailed report which took twelve weeks to produce and cost £2,000, as the building, which is Grade 2 listed and has not had any significant investment for the past thirty years, is generally recognised as being run down.

However, in the latest development, according to the Town Council, B&NES is offering a lease with no schedule of condition, which means that, should the Town Council decide to hand back the building at any point during the lease, or B&NES require repairs, it would be liable to bring it up to a standard over and above the condition it took it on in. Therefore, Councillors could be leaving the town open to a potentially huge bill to pay at some point in the future, be it five years, or 99 years down the line. The Town Council has been advised by its solicitor not to sign such a lease.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Paul Myers said: "I feel very, very angry about this. Being told that we were responsible for the delay, when we were not, is bad enough. But then to be presented with these kind of terms after all of the money we have spent, time and effort – to be faced with this after all of this time beggars belief.

"On the basis that letting the Town Hall out to community groups will never be able to fund bringing the building up to standard, if B&NES won't play ball on a lease, the only other option would seem to be to forget Asset Transfer and begin tentatively looking into the possibility of buying the building from B&NES Council. It is not worth much in its current state and the Midsomer Norton Urban District Council did own it in 1903, when it bought it in the first place. At least then, we'd be putting people's money into the asset that they own. B&NES says it is not in the business of improving buildings – but what about Victoria Hall?"

No-one really knows how much B&NES would want for the Town Hall, and if, indeed, it would sell it at all. Town Councillors agreed to work on the basis of their solicitor's advice and advise B&NES that reluctantly, the Town Council will be unable to sign, expressing its dissatisfaction at the recent development at such a late stage. B&NES Council were unable to comment as The Journal went to press.