A 74-year-old building is up for sale because the organisation that owns it cannot afford to bring it back up to scratch.

Halfway Conservative Hall in Minster Road has had a controversial history with a withdrawn and refused planning application and questions raised over its legal ownership.

A company set up in 1937, a year before the hall was built, called Halfway Conservative Hall Ltd says it has the paperwork which proves it does own it.

It is the directors of this firm who have taken the decision to sell as they say it is not viable to fork out the estimated half a million pounds it would cost to refurbish it.

In 2009 an application to demolish the hall and rebuild a new one with residential units above was withdrawn before a decision was made.

Last year, the directors applied again to demolish the hall and build a new one along with some shops and residential units, but this was turned down.

Director Ken Ingleton said they have been left with no option but to sell.

"The building itself is in very poor repair and it’s purely a matter of not having sufficient income to rebuild it," he said.

"We are getting on for half a million to knock it down and rebuild it as a community hall.

"We tried a number of times to develop it but it was turned down so we had to have a rethink and I’m afraid that’s the situation.

"It’s deteriorating and it can’t be left as it is but it’s just not viable to refurbish it.

"It’s been losing business because of its condition."

He says the building has no permanent users on a regular basis and is mainly used by the Conservative Association and occasionally by Halfway Houses Residents’ Association.

Mr Ingleton said there is no set price on the building and it is "subject to negotiation".

He also said there has been some interest but would not be drawn on from whom.

"We don’t know what will happen to it but we would hope it would remain available to the community," he added.