SWINDON Council is considering keeping the keys to the Mechanics’ Institute after emergency works to the historic building are completed in May.

The grade II* listed building, in the Railway Village, is undergoing works which the council claims were necessary to stop it collapsing and posing a deadly risk to the public.

The owner, Mathew Singh, has so far shown no interest in paying and the council has conceded that the public could face a bill of up to £1.2m.

But last night the council’s scrutiny committee was told that the authority is taking expert legal advice into the possibility of not handing back the keys.

David Potter, director of planning and transport, said: “I think it’s right and proper that we have to give consideration to whether we retain the keys.

“We ought to also, in that process, consider how we best protect the funds that the council has spent on the building undertaking its statutory duties.

“There’s an existing loan on the building to HSBC bank so therefore there’s likely to be a charge on the building by this bank. There are assets within the building.

“It’s statutory, having completed the works, to hand the building back to the owner if we feel it’s the appropriate course of action.

“But if we feel we need to take action to secure our claim we can do that.

“We are taking legal advice on that point, so we might not hand the keys back.”

Mr Potter said if the council retained the keys, the building would still be owned by Mr Singh, and the council would need a clear legal argument to do so, which might require the authority to attend magistrates’ court.

In relation to English Heritage’s decision to withdraw a grant of more than £200,000 towards the work, Mr Potter said the council felt ‘absolutely justified’ in defending its decision, even if that involves the employment of private conservation specialists.

He explained that the council’s decision to carry out the work under a different piece of legislation – one of English Heritage’s concerns – was necessary to undertake the works quickly and to safeguard the interests of the council against higher-than-predicted costs.

Coun Peter Heaton-Jones (Con, Abbey Meads) wanted to know ‘why on earth’ the council should hand back the keys but also wanted to know about the financial implications.

Daniel Rose, chairman of the Mechanics’ Institution Trust, said that the council had failed to fulfil its duty to ensure Mr Singh maintained the building at the appropriate standard.

He said that an urgent works notice, which was first sought in 2002, should have been served much earlier than 2010 to reduce the damage to the building. Mr Rose also accused the council of continually undermining the work of the trust.

“It’s the owner’s responsibility to ensure that the condition of the building is kept up to a good standard however it’s the council’s obligation and duty to ensure that this happens and to enforce action against owners in this respect,” he said.

“At every opportunity where the trust has put forward concerns in this matter we have had little or no acknowledgement of that and little if any change on site.”

The committee decided to ask for a working party to be set up to discuss a suitable future use for the building.

l Due to the length of the scrutiny committee meeting, a planned question and answer session with Councillor Garry Perkins on town centre regeneration was postponed to a future date.