IT SEEMS unlikely that the St John Ambulance Hall in Redruth will ever reopen.

For decades it has been a popular venue for community groups and has been used for everything from dog shows and summer fairs to a dance hall and a home for an archery club.

In March The West Briton revealed that the hall had been closed at short notice on health and safety grounds.

A statement from St John headquarters at the time said that the gas board had disconnected the supply, because the appliances were unsafe, there were some issues with the electricity and there was some asbestos that needs removing.

But now it appears the problems are even more serious than first thought.

This week St John Ambulance issued another statement saying the hall would remain closed "for the foreseeable future".

However, the tone of the statement suggests that it will never reopen and the best that the people of Redruth can hope for is a new hall at some time in the future.

Bob Sturland, commander of St John Ambulance in Cornwall said he was disappointed but the local management committee and the county organisation had been left with no choice after serious health and safety issues were identified.

He apologised for the inconvenience to users of the hall.

However, he confirmed that St John intended to progress plans for a new hall on the current site. "Our original bid for grant aid to build a new hall was unsuccessful and for some time we hoped to raise enough money to refurbish the existing one but structural engineers have told us that the building needs major work which makes this project unviable.

"The community and various organisations in Redruth have raised funds for the project and all this money will be ring-fenced for a new hall.

"We very much hope to be able to encourage significant development of the site to include a facility for our own use and that of the community but the current state of the market may mean this cannot be achieved for some time."

St John stalwart Lynn Jenkins, who died from cancer in the summer of 2008, spent the last 13 years of her life raising money to pay for the old hall to be demolished and rebuilt.

At the time of her death she had raised more than £22,000 plus a further £100,000 in legacies.

Jean Reed, president of Redruth St John Ambulance, said: "I would like to thank everyone in the Redruth area for their support for the hall and look forward to being able to welcome back many users when the project is completed."

In the meantime the Redruth division of St John Ambulance will be able to share premises on a temporary basis with their neighbouring division at Illogan and continue to provide first aid cover at events in the Redruth area.