SENIOR citizens who use an historical council-owned ballroom as a venue for tea dances will have nowhere to dance for part of the summer while repairs are made to an ornate ceiling.

The ceiling of the ballroom on the first floor of Accrington Town Hall has started to sag because trusses which support the outside roof have become bent.

Older people's groups use the ballroom for weekly tea dances, some of which attract up to 200 people each week.

But the ballroom will be closed for about six weeks starting from June 28 to allow contractors to carry out the ceiling repair work.

Age Concern Hyndburn is one of the groups who which has held weekly tea dances in the ballroom for several years..

The Eagle Street Senior Citizen's Centre also holds weekly dances at the town hall.

Acting general manager Patrick Collister said: "We have quite a large attendance of anything up to 200 people. So finding a venue of the same size and quality would be very difficult.

"But we would have had three closed weeks for the summer anyway." Hyndburn Council set aside £60,000 this year to fund repairs to the town hall in Blackburn Road, which is a Grade II* listed building.

The town hall is a listed building and permission for the work to be carried out has been granted by the Government. Holes will to be cut into the coving around the top of the ballroom so that the trusses can be replaced without taking down the entire ornate ceiling.

A Hyndburn Council spokesman said: "Having been in a state of disrepair for a number of years now, we really can't put this work off any longer.

"The more that the ceiling deteriorates, the more it will become a health and safety hazard.

"We have done as much of the renovation work from within the roof space as we can, ensuring that we keep disruption to a minimum.

"We have tried to select the quietest time of year over the summer holidays while this vital work is carried out."

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