THE condition of Tavistock's historic Guildhall came under the spotlight last week after one of the town's longest serving councillors slammed the attitude of the Listed building's previous custodians.

The Guildhall has just been bought by the Devon Historic Buildings Trust from Devon and Cornwall Police Authority.

It has scarcely been used since the West Devon magistrates' bench was moved to Plymouth in a cost-cutting exercise almost ten years ago.

At a meeting of the town council's properties committee, Cllr Ted Sherrell welcomed the fact that the trust had bought the property and wished the organisation luck in finding a new use for the building.

He said: 'We live in a very old town with a great heritage and magnificent buildings. We spend a lot of council tax payers' money in trying to maintain our buildings, and it's blooming hard, as we all know.

'But it has to be said that the police authority, who owned the Guildhall, have failed lamentably to do the same.

'It's been left to rot since the court closed in December 2000. We have been gravely let down, as a town and a community. It's been a bad episode, the police authority should feel ashamed of itself and it shouldn't go without comment.'

A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police Authority said: 'An agreement has been reached with Devon Historic Buildings Trust who have now taken responsibility for the building and will investigate and progress the refurbishment and development of the building for the benefit of the community when it has been vacated by the police. 

'The needs of Tavistock and its surrounding communities are at the core of this project from the outset.

'The new community police station will allow the flexibility to accommodate whatever resources are required to police Tavistock and the surrounding area into the foreseeable future.'

l The Devon Historic Buildings Trust is looking for trustees to help take the restoration project forward.

People from Tavistock are being sought with a passion for the Guildhall buildings or older buildings in general.

Secretary of the trust Debbie Parnell said that by the end of the year they hoped to select a conservation architect who would bring expertise and innovation to the project.

She said:?'It is really important we get the right people for the job. There have been feasibility studies done on the Guildhall but as yet they have not come to anything because there is very little you can do to the building.

'It's going to be a challenge to find out what we can do with it.'

Mrs Parnell said it was 18 months before the trust could touch the Guildhall complex because that was when the police were moving out. A new police station will be constructed at the site of the old Superwinch building in Abbey Rise.

She added that it was very early days with the Tavistock project but the trust had restored 39 buildings and always managed to find grant sources to fund the restoration work.

This included a complex of four properties in Market Street, Tavistock, which were put back into the housing market, a delapidated old folly at Haldon Forest near Exeter, which had been turned into a luxury accommodation and wedding venue, and Cricklepitt Mill at Exeter, which was now the headquarters of the Devon Wildlife Trust.

'The Guildhall in Tavistock is immensely important with its history and position in the town and we will find the right restoration project to preserve its history and make it relevant to today,' added Mrs Parnell.

Anyone interested in becoming a trustee should contact the Devon Historic Buildings Trust on 01392 446615.