THE sword of Damocles continues to hang over a Cotswold youth hostel despite a modest stay of execution.

In March the Youth Hostel Association's board of trustees announced that Stow Youth Hostel was going to be sold and bookings were not going to be taken after September.

The trustees said renovation costs as well as practical restrictions such as lack of parking and listed building status - presenting its own problems with planning regulations - made it a non-viable proposition and they would never recoup the money they would have to spend to meet today's user needs.

Now the YHA has extended the date when the building will be put on the market and bookings were still going to be taken until April 30, but insists nothing has changed and it will be sold once an agent has been appointed.

However, Stow Town Council is hoping the additional time and a public outcry from the town will reverse the decision.

Town mayor Councillor Alun White said: "This is a use it, or lose it situation and I think the only way forward is to encourage people to get on to social media and say we want to keep our youth hostel. There isn't another in the Cotswolds and it would be a huge loss to visitors," he said.

The hostel is a 17th century town house situated in Stow high street and can accommodate up to 48 guests. There is currently one full-time employee. A bed for the night costs between £13.50 and £17.50 for non-YHA members.

It has been used as a youth hostel for 80 years but is currently only running at 49 per cent capacity.

Sam Littlechilds, media and policy manager for the YHA said: "The YHA does not like closing its hostels but the amount of investment needed to renovate the Stow site would never be recouped. People want different things these days. Families do not like sleeping in dormitories with their children among people they do not know. The cost to reconfigure rooms is impractical. There is the added problem of the building's Grade Two listed status and getting permission to change the interior would not be easy.

"Also, there is restricted parking at Stow. There's nowhere to park coaches or minibuses on the grounds which put groups off," he said.

He said the YHA had recently invested almost £20 million on its hostels which currently total 138. He confirmed the nearest hostel to Stow was at Stratford and was better equipped, had parking and better facilities and would still allow people to explore the Cotswolds. Beds at Stratford started at £15 per night.

He added that a dozen hostels were to be closed this year which was sad news for all the communities affected.

The town council agreed to spread the word via social media and approach the YHA to see if a solution other than closure could be found.