Concerned residents are calling for answers over the future of their town hall.
The historic Westhoughton Town Hall usually houses public services but is undergoing vital refurbishments and has been empty since before the coronavirus lockdown began.
Liberal Democrat councillor Bernadette Eckersley-Fallon says she is now regularly asked whether the building could be sold off, amid rumours that Bolton Council may choose to cash in on it.
However, the local authority says no decision on the hall's future will be made until plans for the regeneration of Westhoughton town centre are decided.
The area is among four townships in the borough of Bolton set to receive a share of £16m for major refurbishment works and, while a "masterplan" for this project has been drawn up, the final decisions on what work should be done are still to be decided.
In a post on Facebook, Coun Eckersley-Fallon said the building had already been offered a separate £2.5m update by the council and questioned why concerned residents should have to wait on the results of other plans she believes are related to the rest of the town centre.
She said: "Many of you know that £2.5m has been earmarked to upgrade and regenerate our magnificent town hall so I am struggling to understand why the future of this glorious building relies on the results of the town centre regeneration project.
"In all honesty, the answer I expected back - and especially from a Westhoughton Town Councillor - was, 'Of course our town hall and the services it provides to our community will be preserved'.
"Yet, the answer I received has actually left more questions to be asked."
In response to the councillor's complaints, a spokesman for Bolton Council said the future of the town hall would be decided as soon as it was safe for a meeting of the steering group set up to discuss town centre regeneration.
“We understand how important Westhoughton Town Hall is to the community and work is currently being carried out to make the building watertight," he said.
“The views and priorities of Westhoughton residents were taken into thorough consideration when drafting the masterplan for regenerating the district centre.
"Plans are due to be finalised at a meeting of the steering group. Once it is safe to meet, we expect the steering group to come forward with exciting ideas for the future of the building.
“We will be seeking the views of Westhoughton residents about delivering the masterplan, via the planning process.”
