'It would be a crime to sell it' – Axminster councillors vote against sale of The Old Courthouse

Town councillors have agreed not to sell the historic Old Courthouse building in Axminster, despite mounting maintenance costs.

Axminster Town Council has been debating what to do with the Grade II listed building in Church Street for months.

The Old Courthouse comprises of Axminster Arts Cafe, which has remained closed since being severely damaged by a fire in October 2020, as well as The Courthouse Makers shop, the former senior citizens centre which also now remains empty, private offices above and a public courtyard garden.

The building has a number of ongoing repair issues which need to be addressed, resulting in mounting maintenance costs, but councillors have dismissed the idea of selling the building with one member saying it would be a "crime" to do so.

Reporting on the latest progress at this week's town council meeting, Cllr Andrea Sedgewick said they had been holding regular meetings with an architect to look at potential options of how the building could be repaired and upgraded for a variety of uses.

Cllr Steve Holt said that "significant work was needed" to make the building habitable.

Cllr Sedgewick laid out three options for the council to choose from:

1) To undertake the most urgent repair work and lease the spaces commercially.

2) To sell the site and not invest any further public money in the building, on the proviso that the garden would remain for public use.

3) To repurpose the building for the town council offices on the top floor and lease the ground floor space, known as 'The Minster Room' commercially, with repair work either to be carried out in stages or as one bulk investment.

The Mayor of Axminster said the issue of The Old Courthouse was probably "the most difficult thing that faces us as a town council".

"This building is very expensive in terms of upkeep and officer time spent on it. It's not a straight-forward decision," she added.

Cllr Bernie Steadman said: "I am very conflicted about this. It has so much history that selling it hurts, but on the other hand my sensible brain is saying let someone else take it on."

Cllr Jeremy Walden commented: "We don't just own it, we are custodians of a part of this town's heritage. Yes, that comes with costs; it's a money pit in terms of conservation, old buildings always are, but it's part of our heritage.

"It would be morally wrong for us to sell it when we can repair it at a reasonable cost."

He added that the town council's workload was likely to increase in future, meaning its current office space in the Guildhall would not be sufficient.

"It's expensive but it comes with the job. To sell it would be a crime," he added.

Several members said they would like to see part of the building used for some kind of community use, or for local groups and organisations, rather than fully commercial.

Councillors unanimously agreed to discount the option of selling the building and to hold further discussions with the architect on specific costings of alternative options.

It was also agreed to consult the fire officer about the safety of having the town council offices on the top floor.

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