A developer has agreed to end a long-running saga and hand over an unfinished village hall to the people of Cowling.

Brian Verity, managing director of Skipton Properties, will formally hand over the building to Cowling Village Hall Management Committee.

The community must now raise the money to complete the work required before the venue can be used.

“This has been a big issue for a very long time, but we’ve finally sorted it out,” said district councillor Ady Green, who represents the Cowling ward. “Granted, we have to raise a lot of money to do it up, but it’s going to happen.”

Mr Verity said: “We hope that this excellent facility for the villagers will be well-used for the benefit of the entire village for a long time to come.”

Skipton Properties agreed to provide the facility as part of a Section 106 agreement associated with the development of 32 homes on Acre Road.

The village hall was built, but the interior was never finished.

Skipton Properties then asked Craven District Council if it would waive the Section 106 agreement. However, Cowling Parish Council requested enforcement action be taken against the developer to ensure the new hall was completed.

Last September, Craven District Council’s planning committee agreed the hall could be turned over to the people of Cowling in its unfinished state and its ownership be transferred to Cowling Parish Council But shortly after, the parish council withdrew from the process, with chairman Alan Perrow saying it was “unhappy with how the village hall management committee had handled things”. With the Section 106 agreement unlikely to be implemented, it was feared the hall would never open to the public.

Coun Green said: “Until last week we thought we had lost it completely. Now we’ve got a piece of property worth £400,000 to £500,000 and it’ll be priceless when it’s finished.”

Coun Perrow said between £216,000 and £300,000 would be needed to complete the hall.

“I think it’s going to be hard to raise that kind of money in this current climate,” he said.

In 2009, the parish council agreed to match fund £25,000 out of its precept, which can be used for the village hall. That money is available until March 31, 2012.