ALTHOUGH I live in Tutshill, I have a soft spot for Lydney Town Hall.

As a teenager I attended jazz dances there with my (then) fiancé and what marvellous evenings we had there.

For the  last 25 years, as a member of Lydney and Severnside Flower Club, I have been at the town hall for our monthly meetings and have often thought that Lydney is so lucky to have this lovely old building which I believe was donated to the town.

Now I hear that, at their recent AGM, the trustees of the hall announced that the finances were in such a poor state they would be closing the hall for good at the beginning of this month and, if it were not for the generosity of a local business man, that would have been the case.

Now, it seems to me, that the people of Lydney need to wake up to the fact that one of their best assets is in severe difficulties and, if some help and support is not forthcoming, they will see it closed.

The Flower Club have tried to help – we have attended their Christmas fair (on the Lydney switch-on of the Christmas lights evenings) for the past three years  but, each time,  the support from the townspeople  was dismal.

At each event there were more stall-holders and entertainers than there were visitors.

Last year we donated our time and the plants to brighten up the tubs and the wall outside the hall to help with their contribution to Lydney in Bloom.

But it is time now for the people of Lydney to be informed of exactly what is happening and, more importantly,  what could happen and get together and help the trust to keep this building open.

It is an old building and I believe it needs considerable modernisation and up-dating and this is going to require serious money.

Also, the daily running costs are high so the hall needs to be in constant use with good marketing and efficient management.

It does seem to be difficult to contact the trust and, recently,  I heard of someone who wanted to book the hall for a wedding but couldn't get hold of anyone to discuss this, let alone book it.

Much of this is hearsay and I don't want to 'knock' the trust – they are all unpaid volunteers giving their time and energy trying to do a very difficult job with, seemingly, little help and support.

I haven't seen anything about this in the Forest Review (I don't get any of the other Forest newspapers) but I think you are the newspaper who could investigate this whole sad situation and report on it.

What would happen if, in the worst case scenario, the hall was closed? Surely, if it was donated to the town it could not be sold for development? Or could it? I believe this building has an interesting history and should remain as an asset to the town. I think this is a case of 'use it or lose it'.

Alwyn Page, Tutshill.