An organisation that already manages a number of high-profile venues in Cheltenham has thrown its hat into the ring to save the Stroud Subscriptions Rooms.

Cheltenham Trust runs Cheltenham Town Hall, The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum, Pittville Pump Room, the Prince of Wales Stadium and the leisure @ sports centre.

It is reportedly among seven groups that have put their names forward to manage the Sub Rooms (pictured) after Stroud Town Council made an appeal for expressions of interest before today's closing date for submissions.

Cheltenham Trust chief executive Julie Finch confirmed to the Stroud Life newspaper that it would be interested in running the Sub Rooms.

"What we have got is a proven model for a town trust that delivers benefits for local people, which I'm sure is something that Stroud would be interested in," she told the paper.

The Sub Rooms, built in 1833, is the only Stroud Town Council-owned and run arts and entertainment facility in the district.

In October, the council announced that it had to reduce the £400,000 annual costs associated with running the facility in order to meet financial pressures.

The three options to be considered by the council are: keeping the building under council control but with efficiency savings; allowing another organisation to run the Sub Rooms as a public arts and cultural facility; or selling the building on the open market.

The council would prefer that "any solution should not only improve the cost effectiveness for the public but also seek to retain its availability to the public for cultural use."

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Picture credit: geograph; copyright Philip Pankhurst  and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence .