There is renewed hope a historic building can be restored for community use.
Blaenau Ffestiniog Market Hall in Gwynedd has had no main purpose since the 1970s.
It is believed to have been used for the first political speech of David Lloyd George, prime minister from 1916 to 1922.
Built in 1861, the market hall would have been a hive of activity when 12,000 people lived in the town in the 1880s.
Many had been attracted by the quarries which exported 150,000 tonnes of slate annually all over the world from Ffestiniog Railway, a stone’s throw from the hall.
But use of the Grade II-listed building waned with the demise of the slate industry and it has become largely unused since the 1970s.
Plans to turn it into an entertainment and community centre about 20 years ago failed due to lack of funds.