AROUND 100 people turned out to discuss ambitious plans to restore an iconic Wellington building.

Wellington Mills Community Interest Company held the meeting at Wellington Methodist Church hall on Monday evening (January 21).

Residents concerned for the future of Tonedale Mill turned out to the meeting to review the feedback from the original consultation day held in October last year.

Nicky Saunders, director, said: "We have no money and we don't own the site. There may be a chance in the future but at the moment that is just a dream.

"Nothing is set in stone and there is a lot to do. Everything is possible when people pull together.

"We had around eight boards of people's ideas from the meeting, it was fantastic.

"If we had this building, what would we do with it? The feedback said things including workspaces, parking, and housing."

Four of the six directors of the group discussed each area of feedback individually.

Nigel Morris, another director, said: "People wanted a variety with workspaces. Cooperative ownership as well as indepedent ownership. But it shouldn't detract from Wellington businesses.

"People wanted a mixture and they wanted it to be low cost."

Housing need was also discussed, with many residents saying there was already a lot of housing in the area, but others still wanted more.

One resident raised the need for single occupancy sites, instead of houses for big families.

Mayor of Wellington, cllr Gary James, said making a site like this one affordable for housing would be a 'big ask', but he would 'love to see it'.

Anita Roy, another director, spoke about making the project environmentally friendly and sustainable as a big priority, as well as maintaining the site's 'beauty'.

Between each topic, residents were quick to remind the enthusiastic directors of the reality of the situation.

A handful of attendees continually remarked to the crowd the building wasn't owned by the group, and there was no money to work with.

The building is owned by Mancraft Ltd, which has put the building up for sale but has so far not responded to the group, according to the directors.

The next meeting will be held by the directors in around six months.