Lydney Town Hall saved from immediate closure

The town hall will stay open for at least another month after donations were received

A town hall has been saved from immediate closure after receiving donations from local businessmen.

Lydney Town Hall managers announced the venue may be forced to shut due to cash flow problems because of unexpected repairs and a bar refurbishment.

About £2,000 has now been donated, which staff say will allow it to stay open for another month.

A potential investor has also come forward, which could keep the hall open in the long term, a spokesman said.

Management committee chairman, Colin Knight, said they had been forced to pay out from cash reserves for repairs to a leaky roof and the ceiling in the main hall, and for improvements to the bar.

'Cash crisis'

He said: "Twenty-four hours ago we were days away from having to close it.

"We were running extremely low on cash reserves because we have to put money away for redundancy, which we have to ring fence.

"But we've had a couple of cheques in this morning which helps us."

He said the situation was "not solved" but means the hall can remain open "while we try to get some more cash ready".

A meeting with a potential investor had been arranged for next week, and the committee was considering a plan to get volunteers to do the cleaning, which is the hall's biggest cost.

Lydney Town Hall was opened in 1889 and The Beatles famously played there in 1962.