Historic England rejects bid to protect Pudsey Town Hall as council sale moves closer
More than 1,000 people signed a petition against the building’s sale
The sale of a former town hall in Leeds looks set to go ahead after a bid to grant the building protected status was rejected.
It was hoped Pudsey town hall could be formally listed as a historic building after Leeds City Council put it on the market.
In January the council decided to press ahead with the sale, despite more than 1,000 people signing a petition in opposition last year.
An application was then made to Historic England to include it on its list of protected sites.
But the bid was rejected after records were examined by historians at the heritage organisation.
A report by Historic England said: “After examining all the records and other relevant information, and having carefully considered the architectural and historic interest of this case, the criteria for listing are not fulfilled and Pudsey Town Hall is not recommended for listing.”
Structural changes made to the hall since it was built in the late 1800s were among the reasons given.
The report said: “Agreed, this is a good local building, but is too altered overall to qualify for statutory listing.”
The Victorian former town hall on has not been open to the public since 2016 and has only been partially used by Pudsey and District Civic Society.
A previous bid to have it listed among the council’s Assets of Community Value (ACVs) was also rejected.
The status could have seen sale of the building paused and a community group given time to draw up a bid to buy it.
The four-storey hall, built around 1890, is up for sale after council bosses said it was costing too much to maintain.