Plans to sell Pudsey Town Hall are set to move forward after a bid to grant the historic building protected status was rejected by Historic England.
Campaigners had hoped the Victorian building would be formally listed after Leeds City Council decided earlier this year to put the property on the market.
The council voted in January to proceed with the sale despite opposition from local residents, including a petition that attracted more than 1,000 signatures. Following that decision, an application was submitted to Historic England seeking listed status for the former town hall.
However, after reviewing historical records and assessing the building’s architectural and historic significance, the organisation concluded it did not meet the criteria for statutory protection. In its report, Historic England said: “After examining all the records and other relevant information, and having carefully considered the architectural and historic interest of this case, the criteria for listing are not fulfilled and Pudsey Town Hall is not recommended for listing.”
The report noted that significant alterations made to the building over the years had affected its eligibility for listing. It added: “Agreed, this is a good local building, but is too altered overall to qualify for statutory listing.”
The four-storey building, which dates back to around 1890, has not been open to the public since 2016. In recent years, parts of the property have been used by the Pudsey and District Civic Society.
The latest decision follows an earlier unsuccessful attempt to have the building recognised as an Asset of Community Value (ACV), a designation that could have paused any sale process and given community groups time to prepare a bid to purchase it.
Council leaders previously argued that maintaining the former town hall had become too expensive, prompting the decision to place the building on the market.
The rejection of the listing application means there are now fewer obstacles standing in the way of a potential sale.
