While a group of concerned residents from Horsham Australia have launched a Facebook petition to try to save Horsham Town Hall, it seems a group in Horsham England has gone down the same path.

Campaign organiser Kevin Midderigh told the Mail-Times that his council wanted to turn the Old Horsham Town Hall into a restaurant and the locals weren't thrilled by the concept.

"After five years of indecision about what to do with our town hall the district council has hatched a scheme to lease it to a commercial client who is planning to gut the insides of this historic, grade two listed building and convert it into a restaurant," Mr Midderigh said.

"During the past five years there have been two public consultations over the future of the building and on both occasions the public voted to keep the building for community use. A winning community bidder was selected to run the building - then the council changed its mind.

"We desperately need town centre community venues in Horsham for music, arts, crafts and other events.

"What we don't need is another restaurant because we have a dozen within 500 yards of the town hall building already.

"Because this issue over the town hall has been going on for so long, a lot of the residents have forgotten about it. So as the decision to convert the building got closer to being agreed, I have set up a campaign website http://www.savehorshamtown hall.co.uk/ and Facebook cause http:/ /www.causes.com/causes/454379? recruiter-id=120350412 to try to remind our residents that they are finally about to lose this wonderful building unless we do something about it.

"We've made it onto the local TV news, see http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=0Dm9UhSbpnk, and are just trying to spread the word around local business and groups to promote the cause and gain awareness of the issues.

"We are asking all campaigners to email the council, the commercial client and our local MP asking them to stop the sale.

"Behind the scenes we have been blocking the planning permission process for the changes to the building because the district council didn't follow the planning rules correctly.

"We hope this will eventually cause the current commercial client Bill's Produce to back out of the deal and force the council to hand the building over to the winning community bid, a charity called the Blue Flash Music Trust."