A UNANIMOUS decision to sell Chillaton's crumbling village hall was taken at a public meeting last week.
More than 35 people turned out to air their views on the future of the hall, originally built in 1909 as the village reading rooms.
'I was very pleased, there was a good representation from the village,' said Neil Warrington, chairman of the hall trustees.
'It was lively, there were lots of questions, lots of views put and I left with the feeling it was a good meeting,' he said.
'Now we have to engage a surveyor to write a report for the charity commission and give a market valuation — we have to get the best price we can,' said Mr Warrington.
The village centre hall was closed a year ago for safety reasons when dry rot began to affect floorboards.
The extensive repairs would cost around £5,500 and in addition there are problems with disabled access at the hall, which is situated at the top of a steep flight of steps above the main road.
A consultation exercise was mounted by trustees last year to find out what villagers wanted to do with the building. They are asked whether to raise money to repair it, sell it and fundraise for a new one or create a village fund for the good of the community.
Now, Mr Warrington hopes people will let the trustees know what sort of development they would like to see in Chillaton when the annual meeting is held later this month.
He said a fact-finding trip around all the new village halls in the area would be made to see what can be achieved.
'If you put the right sort of facilities in it will definitely be used,' said Mr Warrington, who paid tribute to Kathy Perkins of the Community Council of Devon for her help and advice over the past months.
The trustees are also hunting around for a site for the new hall.
'Five people have said they would like to talk to us about potential sites.
'We are not expecting a gift — we are quite clear we will pay the market value. You can't expect people to give away their possessions,' said Mr Warrington.
The trustees have set themselves a two-year target for the project and will be applying for funds from the National Lottery, the borough council and Community Council of Devon, apart from running their own money-raising schemes.
One of the fundraisers is a village cook-book, with a picture of the original village hall trustees on the front cover. There is also a monthly raffle.
The new hall could cost anywhere from £100,000 to £400,000, depending on its facilities.