A TOWN'S residents and groups are urged to speak up if they want a disused building to be saved for community use.

Clevesferye House on Lambton Road, Ferryhill, has been put up for sale by owners Durham County Council.

The building, next to the former leisure centre, used to be a children's home and was more recently used as office accommodation.

But Durham County Council stopped using the building around ten months ago and it has stood empty and boarded up since then.

Some residents of the Broom ward and visitors to Ferryhill Sport and Education Centre- the old leisure centre next door- have complained that it has been targeted by vandals.

Before it is disposed of, members of Ferryhill Town Council want to know if there is demand for it to be kept as a public asset and the means to do so.

It has arranged two public meetings to discuss the future of Clevesferye House.

They will be held at Ferryhill Sports and Education Centre on Thursday, March 22 from 1pm to 2pm and 6pm to 7pm.

All residents of Ferryhill, local organisations and other interested parties can attend and have their say.

Grants and projects officer Karen Younghusband said: "We organised two events, an afternoon and a night one, so most people can attend one or the other.

"We just want to get the public's view, to find out if community groups are interested."

The town council has no plans to take on the building itself, but members felt it should facilitate a public discussion before its sale. It will then inform the county council of the outcome.

Mayor John Lindsay said: "People may have opinions on the building as it is now and its future.

"We just want to know if local groups or individuals are interested in using the building and to hear their ideas before Durham County Council dispose of it.

"It may be that the meetings bring individual groups together who could then explore their options together and if not at least they have had the chance to say."