Leaders of two councils have hailed a deal to keep Stroud Subscription Rooms in public hands.

The historic building will be transferred from Stroud District Council to Stroud Town Council and its recently assembled team for the venue - the Stroud Subscription Rooms Trust - at the end of March, after approval of the deal by the former last Thursday.

“I am really pleased that this historic venue will stay in public hands after a lot of hard work and commitment between Stroud District Council, Stroud Town Council and Stroud Subscription Rooms Trust,” said the district council's leader, councillor Doina Cornell.

“I wish the Trust every success in its vision for the Sub Rooms and I would like to thank the venue’s dedicated staff who have kept it running as normal during a period of uncertainty for them.”

Likewise, Stroud's mayor and chair of the town council, Kevin Cranston, said: “It is really good news that SDC recommended the deal as that is the last piece of the jigsaw falling into place to save the Subs for the public.

“After all the nitty gritty detailed work done by both councils officers to get to this stage we can look forward to the exciting bit as the Trust are able to start to put their plans into action.”

Their deal comes after the district council tried to sell-off the Subs at the end of 2017, pointing to the mounting cost to taxpayers of running the 185-year-old building.

But Ebley Mill's attempted sale prompted a public outcry - at one point 200 demonstrators made a human ring around the building - so the council scrapped its plans and began negotiating with its town counterpart instead.

Their deal means the freehold of the Subscription Rooms and forecourt will be transferred to the town council for £1, with the district council paying up to £125,000 for repairs to the roof of the building and a one-off grant of £230,000 to the Trust on completion of the transfer.

The town council has earmarked £83,000 for costs around the transfer and it has bought a new booking system for the Trust which is due to be up and running this month.

The transfer - along with the signing of a lease agreement - is planned for March 28 and the Trust to start running the Sub Rooms from then.

“We’re already planning and really looking forward to getting started in the building when the transfer is complete,” said the Trust’s Kate Kay.

“It’s a new era for the Sub Rooms and we have a lot of exciting ideas which we want as many people as possible to be involved in. We’re all really looking forward to starting a new chapter for the Subs, together with the people and communities in the District.”

Stroud District Council will continue to take bookings until mid-March for events scheduled up to the end of July this year. From January to March Stroud Subscription Rooms Trust will start to transfer these bookings on to its own booking system and also take new bookings, mainly for August 2019 onwards.

The business and some employees will be transferred direct to the Trust as well as fixtures and fittings valued at around £20,000, though the Tourist Information Centre in the box office is closing and its staff are being made redundant.