OWNERSHIP of a “lifeline” venue in the centre of Liss could be passed to a community group by the end of this spring.
The Liss Community Association is close to concluding a deal to buy the Triangle Centre from Hampshire County Council.
The centre’s manager Karen Feeney is hopeful the association will soon conclude the deal, with negotiations starting around a year ago. She said: “The council is looking to get rid of a lot of their buildings so if we don’t buy The Triangle then we don’t know what will happen to the building.
“It’s not been a quick process because there’s covenants on the building which have to be sorted.
“We’re hoping it will be done by late spring but we will need as much support as possible because when we own it we will have a lot to do and maintenance will be ongoing.”
Maintenance will be the biggest burden on the group’s future finances as grants cannot be sought for running costs.
But the association, a registered charity managed by a group of trustees, can apply for grants to help with project costs, and there are plans to make minor changes, such as adding a porch to the front of the building.
The best thing that villagers can do in the meantime is to support the centre by continuing their custom or becoming a friend.
Karen added: “We need as much support as possible because when we own it we will have a lot to do and maintenance will be ongoing.
“We need people in the community to support us by coming along to the things we do, by becoming a friend of the Triangle, things like that.
“We have a lot of people that come in here that live on their own and the Triangle is a way of communicating with people – it’s a bit of a lifeline.”