How can I stop the district council selling a public building?

Our town has a town hall which was always busy till the district council put hiring fees so high no one could afford to hire it. Now they are selling against the town's wishes. I f they gave it to us we could hire out the offices and use the main hall for entertainment and keep it financially visble. Any ideas?

Get information on the legal procedure for selling a public building.
Gather as much information as you can through the Freedom of Information Act.
Find out why they want to sell it. Do they have a proposal to replace its services?
Why did they put the cost of hire up? When and where was this decided? Who by? Do they have any outside interest in its sell?
How does the cost of hire compare to other halls of a similar nature?

How old is the building? What historical value does it have?
Can you demonstrate its importance to the community? (i.e. what was it used for? who no longer has facilities to cater for them? Is there a specific group that has now been excluded from activities as a result of the councils actions?
What other connections are there to the community, if not historical? Was it built by local labour/Local material?
In honour of anyone?

Answering these questions will help get some action going toward getting the town hall back for the community. You can use these to make a newsletter/information sheet to give to local residents outlining the history and cultural facts of the building, that it is under threat and what will be lost.

Firstly I would make a formal complaint. It might be worth setting up a group 'The xxx townhall protection society' etc. to make formal representations.
Get petitions going,
Contact local politicians and get them to support you.
Lobby the local council and maybe hold a local rally to demonstrate that the community wants the hall.
Try to get the council manager to answer publicly why it is being sold, preferably on radio or other media where he has a short time to respond.
Does anyone famous have a connection with the buidling who would be happy to give some publicity towards keeping it.

Get the press involved to cover any petitions or local demonstrations.

You may consider opposing any planning permission for change of use, demolishion etc.

If there is a reasonable answer to why the council put the price up and now want to sell it, you could look for the provsion of a new town hall either from the council or the developer (or whoever) buys the old one.

I have given you more questions than a specific answer, but I hope you find it helpfull.

Find a lawyer who sides with you. He may help to sue to stop it.

1) go see local coucillor
2) get a petition going

If they are selling it, then buy it.

It would become your own property to use as you would wish.

the district council had an obvious agenda. they set the fees so high so no one could afford to rent it. then they deem it a lose and put it up for sale. find out if anybody on the district council stands to gain from the sale. hire and attorney and sue them to stop the sale. if the building is old enough i may be considered a historical landmark thus barring the city council from altering or selling it. get a lawyer the rules may be different where you live. but an attorney is the right way to go.

Put together a business plan to present to the Council. If you need the district to give you the building to make it financially workable, then make that part of your plan. Maybe they will finance the building for you. Maybe long-term lease the property to a private group to manage. Go talk the the administrative head of the district.

Write to your local MP and go public on the corruption in National Newspapers. Sounds like they intended doing this all along the sneeky bast*rds!

I think I'd try to find out who wants it. Presumably it's in a prime location? Maybe the council are making a "self fulfilling prophesy" in that someone with a bit of influence fancied the site and ensured that it would be run uneconomically thus the council have a good reason to sell it, which is what they wanted in the first place. if you can find proof you'll have won. Otherwise maybe you can enroll a councilor, retired lawyer and journalist who know the ropes and can put up a good fight on the town's behalf. also make a complaint to the local ombudsman, and another outfit, I think they're called district auditors or similar. Good Luck