A BID has begun to save the building that has been the home of the St John Ambulance for 98 years.

The Beacon reported in the November 9 edition that the St John Hall in St Mary’s Street that has housed the St John ambulance was being sold by the trustees for St John Cymru following a “review of our buildings as part of our wider efforts to ensure an efficient and effective model for our charity”.

However, following a public outcry, a petition has been launched by a local labour councillor to ask the trustees to review their decision.

County Councillor Catherine Fookes told the Beacon that, “it would be a real shame that we lose the St John Ambulance hall as the centre that our superb St John volunteers use as a base.

“That service has been provided from the building we all know and love for almost 100 years, serving the community.

“Of course, it’s great they can use Bridges for up to three hours a month, but having the ambulance on site in Monmouth means a much more integral service. I do hope we can encourage the powers that be that they should keep the hall. We as a community are so grateful for the years of service from St John at all the different events in the town.

A spokesman for the trustees explained in November that during the building review, the Monmouth Divisional building was identified as one of the buildings “where we should explore the option of sale through the open market, as part of our focus on sustainability. As a result of this recommendation, our Monmouth Divisional building was recently listed for sale.”

They identified Bridges as a new base for training and it is believed that the ambulance would be housed in Abergavenny.

The Former Divisional Officer in Charge, Alan Morgan who served in that post between 2008 and 2016 told the Beacon back in November it has been the Trust’s intention to sell off the building since the 1990s.

“I fought hard as the officer-in-charge to get them to upgrade the facilities on the present site despite them feeling they could get more money from a developer,” he said.

Mr Morgan said that, as with all charities today, their history and ties to local communities are being broken, “despite the land and buildings being bought and paid for by the founding members of the Division in the town to house both the town’s ambulance and fire engine in the same building”.

He was critical of the Trust regarding the upkeep of the building saying: “Whereas at the moment as landlords they are responsible allegedly for the upkeep of the buildings, they have never spent any money for the upkeep, It has always been done from funds raised by the Division on Flag days and duty payments.

The petition, started by Cllr Fookes asks: “We the citizens of Monmouth ask St John Ambulance to review their decision to sell our hall. St John Ambulance is Monmouth’s oldest charity, set up in 1924 to benefit the town. We believe the hall is an integral part of St John being able to deliver their services in Monmouth. We thank all the volunteers who ensure that events such as the Remembrance Parade, the lantern festival and all our other events can go on. Please save the building and the service.”

If you want to sign the petition, go to: https://secure.avaaz.org/

community_petitions/en/st_john_ambulance_hq_save_monmouth_st_john_ambulance_hall/