LAUNCESTON Town Council is to seek to borrow £1-million in order to carry out urgent renovation work on the Town Hall.

The councillors, meeting with the public and press excluded from the room, read a report presented to them, before agreeing to apply for the loan.

The £1-million will be paid back over 40 years.

The resolution, which was in the minutes which came up for approval by the full council, meeting after the 'Post' went to press, reads:

"It was agreed that work had to be undertaken to prevent further deterioration of the buildings and it was therefore unanimously resolved to apply to the Public Works Loan Board for a loan of £1,000,000 to be paid back over 40 years."

The application has now been sent to the Department of Communities and Local Government for approval

It was further resolved that the existing loan on the multi-storey car park owned by the town council should be paid off immediately from the reserves — and this has now been done.

The Launceston Town Hall and Guildhall were built side by side in the 19th century — the Guildhall in 1851 and the Town Hall in 1887.

The town council is aiming to make the Town Hall into a multi-use centre for the community.