LOCAL authority leaders have been urged not to sell a troubled community centre.

More than 100 people attended a public meeting at Northallerton Town Hall, called after it emerged two potential buyers had expressed an interest in the town's Hambleton Community Centre.

Northallerton Town Council has agreed to raise objections to any sell-off, after the meeting overwhelmingly came out against the idea.

The centre was given two years to put its house in order after it ran up debts of £100,000 last year, although money-saving measures have since reduced the deficit by 44 per cent.

But Hambleton District Council is looking at the possibility of selling, after potential buyers for the centre emerged.

District councillor John Prest said: "The council has a duty to the electorate as a whole. In principle, we have agreed we may look at selling it."

But John Coulson, who also represents the town on the district council, said the review of the centre's finances should be allowed to run its original two-year course before any decision was made. He said speculation over the future could affect advance booking for the centre.