Bookarama will go ahead in the Ashburton Sports Hall for potentially the last time in September.

The Tancred Street Hall has been owned and managed by the Ashburton Centennial Sports Hall Society since 1954, but the organisation wound up and gifted the building to the Ashburton District Council in March.

The council considered a report behind closed doors last month, where it decided to put it on the open market.

Business support general manager Helen Barnes said the discussions and councillor vote occurred in the public-excluded part of the May 20 meeting and “we can’t disclose that”.

The report on the hall that was tabled at the meeting also remains confidential, she said.

“Any relevant information about the building, such as usage, revenue and maintenance, will be provided as part of the tender pack for prospective purchasers.”

What had been released is that the council is hoping to have a sale settled by mid-November.

“We are currently seeking a local real estate agency to handle commercial offers for the building, and council will receive tenders from community groups.

“At this stage, we see the building on the market by late July or early August, with a deadline sale date mid-September.

“Following the closing date for offers, Council will assess all offers and decide which, if any, to accept at their meeting on October 14.”

That timeline means the Ashburton Rotary Club’s annual Bookarama will go ahead in the hall for at least one more year.

The hall has been home to the fundraiser for most of its 47-years, raising over $1.5 million for community projects.

Rotary club’s David Mead said it's all go for the event at the hall, “for this year anyway”.

The club has been informed of the process by the council

“They have held the process back for us to have Bookarama.

“What happens next year is in the lap of the gods.”

The Rotary Club isn’t in a position to buy it, but there is the possibility for community groups to get together with a proposal, he said.

“We have to wait for the tender documents to come out, and perhaps all the community groups get together and see what we can come up with.”

As for this year’s event, book collection is ongoing for the week-long charity sale, with around 500 boxes already in storage.

By Jonathan Leask