Plans to turn an old cinema in a south Oxfordshire town into a community centre are underway.
Consultants are now being invited to work on the revamp of Wallingford's old cinema.
The Regal Centre off Goldsmiths Lane has remained shut and empty for the past seven years.
Last month town councillors agreed they needed to come up with a plan of action - or face the prospect of losing £560,000 of contributions from housing developers, which have been allocated to the renovation project.
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Now the job specifications have been drawn up by the town council and consultants are being invited to bid for the contract.
Town mayor Daniel Beauchamp said: "This is an important step because this project has been hanging around for a while and it's very important we keep the momentum going on this.
"It's fair to say we have not been helped by circumstances in recent years, with the delays caused by the pandemic. As a results costs have risen."
It was bought by the town council in 1975 and was used a community space until 2017 when it closed. A scheme for a £3m new community centre in 2020 did not go ahead because of the pandemic.
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Town councillors agreed last month to bring in consultants because the developer funding needs to be spent by 2026.
Part of the funding from the developers will be spent on the consultants.
"It would be cheaper to refurbish, but that could be just a short-term fix.
"I am pleased we have taken a step forward, and we need to make sure that momentum continues."
Combining a community space with 'truly affordable housing' in the building is one possibility that has been suggested.
The hired consultant will be asked to look in detail at all the options and provide the council with a proper summary.
An initial public consultation in 2018 showed there was demand for a new community centre in the town.
The town council said at the time it wanted a new hall on the site to be able to hold 400 people standing, or 220 seated.
It also planned to move the town council offices to the new building.
A newsletter at the time said the new building would ‘provide modern, cost-effective, office space which is easily accessible’.
Meeting rooms would also have been made available for public hire at the £3m centre.
Films are now shown at the Corn Exchange in the market place, a Grade II listed building.
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Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here.
He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.
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