The Royal Hall was opened in 1903

At a meeting on Thursday, councillors failed to make a decision on whether or not to accept a �6m lottery grant to help pay towards restoration work.

Leader of Harrogate Council, Mike Gardner, said it was impossible to make a decision as the Heritage Lottery Fund had not responded to its latest plans.

A lack of a decision by the council means the grant could now be withdrawn.

'Wasted money'

Howard Hughes from the Royal Hall Restoration Trust says that by not accepting the grant, the council will now have to spend money on a building that is not fit to be used.

Mr Hughes told BBC Radio York: "All the money that is now spent on the Royal Hall once it's empty is wasted money.

"There's absolutely no public benefit at all from maintaining an empty building and that's what the council have done."

The Royal Hall in the town centre was opened in 1903 and is a Grade II building.

Own money

It was used for a wide range of entertainment events until it was closed in November 2002 after the building was found to be unsafe.

The council fears that if it accepts the �6m grant it will have to find around �8m of its own money to complete the project.

Mr Gardner blamed the latest delay on the Heritage Lottery Fund who set a deadline of Friday for a decision on whether to accept the grant.

"The council had asked for an extension of six months in order to be able to develop a partial scheme. The lottery fund did not even respond to that point," he said.

A spokeswoman for the Heritage Lottery Fund confirmed that the offer of �6m would be withdrawn at midnight on Friday and said they had worked hard with the council to find a solution.