RYDE Town Hall and Theatre, which has been at the centre of a spate of vandalism in the town, could soon be restored to its former glory.

Closed by the Isle of Wight Council and sold to a private investor in 2013, the building has been in a state of disrepair for a number of years.

Cllr Phil Jordan has agreed with the owner a proposal and motion which he will take to the next Ryde Town Council meeting, on November 2.

If the town council votes in favour, it will take the building on a three year lease with an ‘option to buy’ and a ‘licence to occupy’ during the same period.

He says the purpose is to make a start on clearing up the premises and implementing some small repairs and maintenance.

He will then apply for grant funding to purchase and restore the building, which has been heavily vandalised in recent weeks.

"The long term plan is to restore the theatre as a venue," said Cllr Jordan.

"We want to convert the rest of the space into a variety of public spaces and/or commercial opportunities, such as start-up offices.

"We want the public space for community use, and to return the town council offices and meeting rooms.

"The old council chamber is still in the building with historical plaques and galleries.

"Until I get the business case report back, I can only estimate the costs of buying and restoring the building to be around £3-£4 million.

"We would hope to raise much of that through grant funding, donations, crowd funding and public borrowing to kick-start the project."

Cllr Jordan says groups of young people have broken into the town hall numerous times, and spoke previously of the "carnage" left in their wake.

He says the theatre organ has been smashed, the floor has had paint poured over it, internal doorways and windows have been smashed, and crockery has been thrown about the place.

Read more: 'Carnage' caused to Ryde Town Hall by 'urban explorers'

A cherub was also smashed off a fountain in Eastern Gardens, in what Cllr Jordan believes was an attempt to climb the feature.