WORK has begun on clearing out Warminster’s derelict Old Town Hall since it was bought by a group of local businessmen last month.

The latest chapter of the Grade II listed building’s chequered history got off to a good start after the building was sold by Devo Developments’ Peter Caldwell.

Although the new owners haven’t been able to deal with the hall’s notorious pigeon infestation, they promise it will be cleaned and restored in time for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations on June 1.

Alex Mitchelmore, part of Old Town Hall Ltd, said they hoped that part of the hall could be used by the community, perhaps as a museum or gallery, with the top floor as a restaurant.

“We are working on it at the moment,” he said. “Just clearing it out, and the eyesore toilets at the back will be going soon as well.

“We have also been looking into the pigeon problem. Many of them are homing pigeons with tags so it is a bit tricky to get rid of them, and you’ll never get rid of them all.

“One possibility is to get a hawk to scare them off. We want to deal with them humanely.

“It will all be tidied up in time for the Jubilee celebrations.”

The hall has stood empty for several years and is in a state of disrepair.

It was sold to Mr Caldwell at auction late last year, but he put it up for sale again after experiencing planning difficulties.

The town’s preservation trust, which bid for the hall at auction, has been working with prospective developers, including the latest group, to ensure the hall is preserved.

Trustee and local councillor Chris March said: “We were hoping they might get some scaffolding up at the weekend and clear the pigeons but they need a licence from the council.

“We are reasonably pleased with how things are going so far, they seem to have a clearer idea of what use they want to make of the building, which is the most important thing.

“We all want the same thing, which is the town hall restored to use and less of an eyesore on our High Street.

“They will need to include a heritage and an educational element to the plans if they are to get Heritage Lottery Funding as well.”