Pocklington stately home to become food bank and community centre

Burnby Hall will become a community hub run by Pocklington Town Council

A former East Yorkshire stately home is to be turned into a food bank and community centre.

Burnby Hall in Pocklington will be transferred to the town council on a 125-year lease by East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

Built in the 1860s, the house was owned by local solicitors the Stewart family who bequeathed it in trust to the people of Pocklington in 1963.

The gardens are open to the public and are run by a charitable trust.

In 2007, the trust received National Lottery funding to restore the gardens, which is famous for its water lilies, and build a museum which houses items collected by the Stewart family.

According to the trust's website, almost 100,000 people visit the gardens each year.

Under the new arrangement, Pocklington Town Council plans to create a community hub and enterprise centre, including a meeting space, and offices for community interest groups and business start-ups, as well as space for a youth group, a food bank, and an archaeological museum.

The gardens are open to the public and are run by a charitable trust

The town council will lease the building at a peppercorn rent, and will establish a charitable incorporated organisation to manage and run it.

The register office housed in the building will move by September to offices in the centre of Pocklington.

Councillor Anne Handley, leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: "I am delighted that we have today agreed this transfer of a much loved feature of Pocklington to Pocklington Town Council.

"This will be an excellent solution to secure the future of Burnby Hall, and opens up some wonderful possibilities for its future use, and for the local community."