A historic Stockport building has been forced to close over safety concerns.

Hazel Grove Civic Hall, which traces its past to a former mechanics' institute from 1871, was shut last week.

The locally listed building is based on London Road. It was taken over by the Hazel Grove and Bramhall Urban District Council in 1952, then by Stockport council in 1974.

Stockport council said the building was 'temporarily closed as a precautionary health and safety measure', with further investigations now taking place.

A town-hall spokesperson added: "All affected groups and individuals will be contacted directly and offered free relocation to alternative council‑owned facilities for April and May.

"The polling station scheduled to operate at Hazel Grove Civic Hall on May 7 [for the local elections] will now be located at the Methodist Church, Wesley St, SK7 4JQ.

"Further updates will be provided as soon as more information is available."

Michael Topping, 65, is the concert secretary at Hazel Grove bass band, a group which has been using the Civic Hall for decades.

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The group have performed at local events such as the Christmas lights switch on and Remembrance Day.

Michael said: "We've been in there for about 25 years, we have a room there we use every Thursday. We got a message from the caretaker on Monday saying it has been closed.

"It's a community space for the people of Hazel Grove, there are people who come from all over for the band's practice, there are other groups who use it too, it's a well-used space.

"Even now we don't know why it's closed, but there's been scaffolding on the place for about two years.

"We're now having to beg, steal and borrow. We had a meeting with a representative with Stockport council but the alternative venue isn't free, there's nowhere for us, the Thursday evening that we need there's another group there.

"All our equipment is in members' garages and houses now. It's worrying for the future of the band, it's now just about trying to keep it together. I hope this is not the end of the band."

Could the issues at the building have been avoided?

Councillor Jilly Julian, Stockport council's cabinet member with responsibility for the civic estate, said: "The current situation with community buildings like Hazel Grove Civic Hall follows almost two decades of Stockport Council receiving insufficient government funding.

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"The council is proactively surveying all council-owned buildings to identify any structural issues. When these are found the council has to act. This is a temporary closure and out of an abundance of caution, as the council cannot put community groups' safety at risk.

"If we had adequate funding for both reactive maintenance and to implement a proper estate-wide capital works programme the council would be able to do so much more. As it stands, I'm glad that alternative accommodation has been found for the users of that building so quickly.

"We will continue to fight for the funding that we need to invest in our community buildings."

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government was approached for comment.

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