WITNEY Town Council officers have been asked to find out the value of Langdale Hall with a view to selling the building.

The hall, in Langdale Gate, could be sold to finance refurbishment of the Corn Exchange, which the council closed in 2011.

Councillors decided to value the hall at a finance and general purposes committee meeting closed to press and public, on Monday.

The agenda document said: “Town Clerk to give a confidential verbal update, if appropriate, on the future disposal of the hall.”

The council revealed in 2011, before the Corn Exchange was closed, that it was thinking of selling Langdale Hall as it was making a loss.

Councillor Harry Eaglestone said: “We are looking into what it is worth or might be worth, to finance the Corn Exchange.

“I don’t know whether we will sell it and we are talking a few years down the line in any case.

“I can’t see the point of keeping two halls in the middle of Witney.”

He also said the town council’s halls faced competition from venues like the High Street Methodist Church.

Councillor Toby Morris, chairman of the council’s public halls committee, said: “I don’t think there’s a lot of choice in the matter.We cannot afford to run two halls.”

Last year, the council spent £45,000 refurbishing Langdale Hall to cater for groups which had used the Corn Exchange.

Mr Morris said the council had rejected the idea of keeping Langdale Hall and instead selling the Corn Exchange.

Councillor David Harvey called the idea reasonable given the amounts of money involved.

In 2011, the council said it was considering selling Langdale Hall due to the building’s running costs.

The hall cost the council £61,916 in 2009-10.

A Witney estate agent said the building could be sold for up to £1m if turned into shops or flats.