THE future of Tavistock's historic town hall comes under the spotlight this month, as residents in the area are quizzed about their views on the Gothic building.

The consultation exercise is being run by Tavistock Town Council, as part of their best value programme — and councillors really want to hear what people think about the central building in the town.

Rosie Kehoe, deputy town clerk, wants to encourage as many Times readers as possible to return the survey slips contained in this week's paper.

Mrs Kehoe, who is organising an open day at the town hall next month, said: 'It costs us £11 per hour, 24 hours a day to keep it going.

'Even if it's negative, we want to hear what people think. There's bound to be people that say "Not another questionnaire", but we hope as many people as possible send them back.'

She has investigated other market towns throughout the country and said Tavistock 'measures up' very well when it comes to town halls.

'Whether people want it or not, it actually belongs to them,' she said.

'It's also incredibly good value — we get people coming out from Plymouth who are amazed how cheap it is to hire.'

Cllr Jenny Metcalfe, chairman of the town hall best value scrutiny group, said: 'The hall is part of our historical heritage, very few towns have anything like it. It's this sort of thing that people come to Tavistock for and we should cherish it.'

Cllr Metcalfe said she did not think people realised what a 'superb' building the town hall was, or how reasonable it was to hire, whether the main hall or the smaller rooms.

Cllr Judith Williams, mayor of Tavistock, said: 'I would ask that people do try to help us and I would encourage everyone to come along and see what a beautiful building it is.'

The town hall open day will be held on December 7, between 10am and 4pm and in the evening between 6pm and 8pm. Staff and councillors will be on hand to answer questions and visitors can tour the entire building.

Tavistock Town Hall was designed by Edward Rundle, architect to the seventh Duke of Bedford.

It was opened on February 2, 1864 with a grand ball which went on until 4am, as the Tavistock Gazette of the day reported.

Originally the building was designed to house a savings bank, the parish council offices and a market keepers residence and was built over the site of Matthew Street, Lower Brook Street and Lower Market Street.

The hall, with its collection of portraits and magnificent maple floor, passed into public ownership from the 11th Duke of Bedford's estate in 1910, as a result of new taxation laws.