Community group accepts defeat in bid to buy hall

A community group hoping to buy a former drill hall has admitted defeat in its attempts to raise enough funds for its purchase.

The Your Hall group raised about £40,000 to buy the Louth Royal British Legion Hall but it fell way short of the building's £250,000 asking price.

The group had hoped to secure other grants and income before a deadline of 31 January, set by TES Property Ltd - the estate agent in charge of the sale, but said it did not have enough for a "competitive offer".

TES said they had an interested party and were no longer taking viewings.

The Your Hall group was formed to buy the 19th Century building in 2023.

It successfully campaigned to have it named as an "Asset of Community Value" by East Lindsey District Council last year, which makes it harder for the building to be used for private purposes and delayed the sale.

Nikki Wheeldon, from the Your Hall group, said they had a series of "very-nearly moments" and came close to securing enough funding to buy it, but was "incredibly proud" of the amount the group did raise.

"We've been so unbelievably impressed with the support of people and the local community getting involved," she said.

"It was very difficult but we're pretty proud of what we've managed to do and how close we got."

TES would not confirm whether offers had been made.

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.