A popular entertainment venue in council ownership for more than 100 years could be sold off.

Canterbury City Council insists the loss-making Kings Hall in Herne Bay is not up for sale - despite it appearing to be on a London property consultant's website.

The advert is offering the building for sale or rent - price on application - and even suggests the possibilty of redevelopment.

But council bosses say they are simply "testing the market" as part of a number of options being considered for the hall's future.

Council spokesman Leo Whitlock said: "The King's Hall is not up for sale.

"Its future is subject to an in-depth review which is exploring four options - a partnership with a community trust, a village-hall style of working, potential closure and selling or renting it to a private company.

"The advert that has appeared in the Estates Gazette forms part of the market testing for that final option on the list.

"A full report is due to go to community committee in March next year so they can choose their preferred option."

The venue, which hosts numerous shows, wedding and parties, cost council tax payers £253,633 last year and is forecast to need a £283,344 subsidy in 2017/18.

The council met with community groups in the town last week to discuss the possibility of it being run in partnership or by a trust.

The King's Hall was originally built into the Downs on East Cliff as the The Pavilion in 1903 and funded by local developer Thomas Dence, who gifted it to the town.

In 1911 council surveyor and architect FWJ Palmer presented plans to further develop the site as a memorial to the late King Edward VII, with the work paid for by a £6,000 loan from the Local Government Board.

The King Edward VII Memorial Hall, known locally as the Kings Hall, was opened on July 10, 1913, to much fanfare by Princess Beatrice, sister of the late king.

It had been extended as a theatre, concert hall and dance hall designed to accomodate 1,500, with 1,100 in the open-air theatre on the roof.

After the fires at the Town Hall and the Theatre on the Pier in the 1920s, it became Herne Bay's sole theatre.

It is a popular venue for concerts, bands, dances and even professional wrestling, and has also been used by amateur dramatics groups such as Herne Bay Operatic Society and Theatrecraft.

It continues to host concerts, shows, weddings and drama productions, as well as charity fundraisers, boxing events and the popular Zombie Ball.