Thatcham Tories call for Priory to be sold

External wall in need of repair and plan to create community hub seem to be going no where

MANY suggestions of what could be done with The Priory building have been discussed over the past two years, but Thatcham's Conservatives have put forward a new idea – sell it.

Town and district councillor Dominic Boeck (Con, Thatcham South and Crookham), who spoke on behalf of his party, said that the property in Church Lane ought to be sold off as it had sat empty since Thatcham Town Council bought it in 2010.

Mr Boeck said that the longer it took the council to decide to sell it, the more difficult it would

become.

He also said that the Conservatives did not believe that the town council's plan to convert The Priory into a multipurpose community hall was a viable idea because of its Grade II status which placed limitations on what could be done structurally.

He said: “It's disappointing, there should have been something done with it before.

“The council was in agreement about purchasing and developing The Priory but things have moved on – we now know more about it than when it was purchased.

“It does seem to have taken a long time to have come up with a plan.”

He added that the footpath that runs between it and St Mary's Church had had to be closed by West Berkshire Council because one of the walls was in need of repair and was considered a danger to passersby.

However, town councillor Lee Dillon (Lib Dem, Thatcham North) said that The Priory was purchased with the intention of turning it into a community facility, and that was still the intention.

He argued that the Conservatives were jumping the gun as the council had only owned The Priory for two years.

He said: “It is all well and good for the Conservatives to want to sell it, but they voted unanimously to purchase it.

“They don't have a good track record for delivering anything in Thatcham, but we are there to invest in the town.”

In January 2010, the building was handed over to the town council from West Berkshire Council, after a bid of £400,000 was accepted.

The district council decided to put the building – which previously housed a pupil referral unit and hostel – on the market to recoup the money from a property it purchased in Calcot to provide social services in the east of the district.

Since then, the building has remained empty and has been subjected to numerous incidences of vandalism.