THE ailing town hall in Stockbrdge could be in line for a facelift - thanks to the dedication and hard work of two men.

Parish council chairman, David Baseley, and village historian, Hugh Saxton, believe that £600,000 is needed to enhance and preserve the building for future generations.

In its present condition, residents have labelled it a "disgrace". But it is still well used.

The hall is the home of parish meetings, jumble sales and once a month sell-out cinema shows, when around 100 villagers pay to watch a film fresh from the cinema.

It is also used by a mothers' and toddlers' group, a slimming club, the amateur dramatic society, for citizens' advice meetings and by the football club for functions.

Dr Saxton, who is chairman of the Town Hall committee said: "You can't leave a building like this to go on slowly going downhill and getting tattier and tattier. We need to do something that will set it up for the next century or more."

They were unsuccessful in trying to get lottery funding two years ago, but through South East England Development Agency's market town initiative they are applying for financial support for some of the necessary work to take place.

They also hope that Test Valley Borough Council and Hampshire County Council will help fund the development.

The hall was built in 1790 and the parish council is its legal owner. Paint is flaking off some of the walls and some of the exterior brickwork is cracking. No major work has been done on it for 50 years.

An architect has drawn up plans for the proposed facelift and although the council has not applied for a precise figure, they believe around £250,000 is needed as a starting point.

That sum would transform an existing cottage, a side part of the hall, that houses the staircase and toilets. But there is no disabled access to that side of the property and the aim is to make the hall accessible for everyone.

Mr Saxton added: "If we have a disabled loo, decent toilets, a lift and a decent staircase we will begin to see things are changing.

"There are then a lot of other things, like the staging upstairs, the lighting and the heating that also need to be done. But the new cottage would be a huge change and at least people will be able to see that something is happening."

Mr Baseley will be resigning from his position as chairman of the parish council in May, but he will remain a councillor and is determined to see the task through.

He said: "This is an interesting and very important project. Large windows that were bricked up decades ago will be filled with glass and it will shine a new light on the hall. It is an extremely well booked venue and benefits the entire community enormously."