A music school in Trowbridge has renewed its efforts to move to a former primary school hall.

A fresh plea by the Wiltshire Rural Music School to buy the former Margaret Stancomb Infants School hall in British Row has won the support of local councillors, meaning Wiltshire Council will have to review its plans to sell the building for housing.

The 77-year-old music school in Gloucester Road, which has about 170 members and 60 musicians, originally wanted to move to land at John of Gaunt School, Trowbridge, but the plans fell through.

Glyn Bridges, chairman of WRMS’ board of governors, said: “We have wanted to buy this building (the school hall) since February 2008 and the council have just ignored us.

“It has since been vandalised and who knows what condition it is in now.”

The school merged with Parochial Junior School in 2008 to become Bellefield Primary School, with pupils moving to the Parochial site in Windermere Road in January 2009, leaving the Margaret Stancomb buildings empty.

At a Trowbridge Area Board meeting last Thursday, which members of WRMS attended, councillors voted to consider the land for community use rather than housing.

This has forced Wiltshire Council to put plans to apply for permission to turn the land into housing on hold for three months.

Wiltshire Rural Music School is hoping the delay will allow them time to discuss their proposal fully. Board members are due to meet council officers on Monday to discuss buying the school hall and using its as their HQ and a practice centre.

WRMS was issued with a noise abatement order eight years ago following complaints by the tenant who rents the rooms above their present base, one of the reasons they want to move.

Mr Bridges said: “We want to expand the music work we do with adults with learning difficulties, so we need a bigger space. We have been unable to do as much in the evenings as we’d like because of the noise affecting our tenants.

“The old school hall would be perfect. I made a statement to the council in 2008 and we were told they would get in touch with us, but they never did.” Cllr Jeff Osborn said: “It is things like this that give the council a bad name. We have a lack of joined-up thinking in this establishment.”

Nigel Walker, corporate estates surveyor for Wiltshire Council, said: “A clear and resounding case will have to be made for keeping the building for community use, which will then be discussed by the council’s cabinet.”

The music school, whose president is Lord Bath, was founded in 1933 to enable music teachers to serve more rural areas. One of 13 similar schools set up in England, it is the only one remaining, running sessions for people of all ages to learn to play instruments.

The school has raised £145,000 towards funding the move from concerts, private donations and the sale of secondhand books.

Have your say at Wiltshiretimes.co.uk