By Don Mort, local democracy reporter
and John Baron
The sale of a former town hall looks set to go ahead after a bid to grant the building protected status was rejected.
It had been hoped Pudsey Town Hall could be formally listed as a historic building after Leeds City Council put it on the market.
In January the council decided to press ahead with the sale, despite widespread local opposition.
An application was then made by Pudsey and District Civic Society to Historic England to include it on its list of protected sites.
But it emerged this week that the bid was rejected after records were examined by historians at the heritage organisation.
A report by Historic England said: “After examining all the records and other relevant information, and having carefully considered the architectural and historic interest of this case, the criteria for listing are not fulfilled and Pudsey Town Hall is not recommended for listing.”
Structural changes made to the hall since it was built in the late 1800s were among the reasons given.
The report said: “Agreed, this is a good local building, but is too altered overall to qualify for statutory listing.”
Councillor Andrew Carter (Cons, Calverley & Farsley) was disappointed by the decision.
He told WLD: “I hope now that the proposed purchaser of the building will make direct contact with Pudsey and District Civic Society and see if an accommodation can be reached to preserve what I call the “civic floor” of Pudsey Town Hall for community use, and for a local history museum.
“Personally, I think that this whole issue of the sale of the building has been a massive betrayal of the people of Pudsey. I am only sorry that some of the people now purporting to want to save the building did not put a bit more effort into it along with those of us who have been doing our best to preserve Pudsey’s history.
“I repeat again, Leeds City Council stand accused by me of getting ride of our public assets at giveaway prices, in what can only be called an act of civic vandalism.”
Cllr Trish Smith (Reform, Pudsey) was unsurprised by the decision not to list the building.
She said: “While it is disappointing the Listing Committee weren’t able to see our Town Hall as worthy of heritage protection, it wasn’t really a surprise. As I’ve previously mentioned, other than the beautiful Council Chamber, Mayor’s Parlour and Tower, almost everything of historic significance was lost many years ago.
“That said, it is a huge shame nobody besides the Pudsey & District Civic Society, Pudsey Town Hall CIC and a handful of others have been truly able to see the magnificence of this iconic building.
“It’s a double-edged sword in so far as, do we keep fighting and leave the building empty and decaying, or do we try to work with the new owners on a reasoned and sympathetic approach to the building’s new future.
“Our realistic options have always been very limited. Community use has always been the best option, but that’s becoming increasingly unlikely. This was a rushed and needless sale which hasn’t delivered true value – not to the council and certainly not to our community.
“The CIC and Civic Society will continue to campaign for, and work towards, a sustainable community use for the Town Hall – even in part – until all avenues have been fully exhausted.”
A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: “Pudsey Town Hall has not been fully occupied since 2016 when the One Stop facility relocated into Pudsey Library and the last services left in 2020. Since that time, the council has had no requirement for the space and many years of funding cuts and increased demand for social care services, has meant that we have had to continue to reduce the size of the council’s property estate to reduce associated running and maintenance costs.
“We have provided the opportunity to the Pudsey Town Hall Community Interest Company to explore solutions for the building over a number of years, however, this is a large building which presents challenges for community organisations to secure funding to invest into the building and sustain it into the future.
“Following the outcome of the Listing application, we will now seek to progress with the sale of the building to the selected purchaser. “
The Victorian former town hall on has not been open to the public since 2016 and has only been partially used by Pudsey and District Civic Society.
A previous bid to have it listed among the council’s Assets of Community Value (ACVs) was also rejected.
The status could have seen sale of the building paused and a community group given time to draw up a bid to buy it.
The four-storey hall, built around 1890, is up for sale after council bosses said it was costing too much to maintain.
UPDATE: This article was updated Wednesday, at 9.50am on 8 July 2026 to add Leeds City Council’s comment.