EVENTS have been stopped at a 140-year-old community hall after a lack of public support forced a trust to pull out of running it.

The Kingsway Hall Arts and Theatre Community Trust took a three year lease on the Grade II listed building in 2011.

It had been just weeks away from closure at the time when it was bought and handed to the trust with hopes of it being hired out for pantos, parties, cabarets and wedding receptions.

But earlier this month the trust stepped down from running the Kingsway Hall, unable to meet the ongoing maintenance and running costs.

Chris Scott, a director of the trust, said: “The lease ended two years ago but we continued to see if we could make it work.

“It doesn’t have the support in Harwich and we can’t afford to put any more money in it.

“It’s just not viable with heating, insurance, lighting, rates and the costs of maintenance and cleaning.”

  •  St Helena Hospice will move its charity shop into the Kingsway Hall, which was built by Robert Bagshaw in 1874, at the end of the month.

The current shop, underneath the hall but accessed from Bagshaw Road, will be closed while it undergoes refurbishment.

A sale is being held until September 30 with cut-priced goods - a market style shop will then be run from the hall.

Work is expected to be finished and the shop reopened at the end of October.