‘Significant’ steps to make Halifax social centre used by thousands of people safe

Shock gripped users of the centre – there were 30,000 or so last year – when the sports centre building used by many community groups was well as individuals was boarded up, actions accompanied by security staff and which the Centre at Threeways charity running it have described as “aggressive and unwarranted”.

The council, which said it had no alternative, says it has since been working closely with tenants and users to ensure services and activities are continued wherever possible and are safe to do so.

It is still considering the sports centre’s options for the future.

Calderdale says it has also provided support to staff who previously worked for Threeways, who were stunned by last week’s events, to help them find alternative employment.

The authority has contacted all the tenants within the centre, including social enterprises, small businesses, a church with its food bank and a GP surgery, and the vast majority of activities continue to operate on site as normal, said a spokesman this week.

Meanwhile the council says the building and the grounds have been secured, providing robust protection from theft and vandalism, while further checks and assessments by the council’s Building Regulations and Health and Safety teams continue.

Cabinet voted to enable the buildings to be taken back last summer but the decision has only been enacted now, with Centre at Threeways making a case for being allowed to continue running the sports centre part of the complex.

The charity, which faces insolvency as a result of the council taking back the centre, are still trying to seek answers and strongly disagree with the council’s reading and handling of the situation.

Political opponents of the ruling Labour Group have also been critical of the way issues have been dealt with.

Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Coun James Baker (Warley) said: “Forcibly taking back the centre with this aggressive seizure marks the failure of one of the largest asset transfers in the country.

“I think it says a lot about the current attitude of Calderdale Council.

“It wants to tell communities what to do and take control of them rather than working with them.”

The building, which was previously the Ridings School, was one of the most ambitious and largest transfers of a council building to a community organisation ever completed in England.

Calderdale says that challenges particularly in meeting the health and safety standards required in a public building, were always hard and even when the centre was managed by Threeways, the council retained the legal responsibility to make sure that the building is safe for the people who use it.

This means the council must ensure that it is compliant with all the statutory regulations relating to fire safety, asbestos, electricity, gas and also water hygiene, to effectively manage the risk of legionella for example, in the Sports Centre showers, it said.

The council’s Director for Regeneration and Strategy, Mark Thompson said: “Unfortunately the scale of the challenge was too difficult, and the risks to the public were too great.

“The council was forced to take the difficult decision to bring the lease to an end, to protect tenants, staff and visitors to the building.

“We are now assessing what additional work is required to make the building safe and to secure a financially sustainable future for the centre.”

One of the Centre at Threeways trustees, Lawrence Fear, said the closure dominated last week’s Ovenden ward forum meeting and he understood the council’s Labour group had also met to discuss the issue.

He believed from sources that the leadership were told in no uncertain terms that the centre had to re-open as soon as possible and that officers’ actions the previous Tuesday were unwarranted.

At the forum the reasons given for the closure were “demolished” by the charity, said Mr Fear.

The council is sticking to its guns and said this week that the authority worked “tirelessly” with the Centre at Threeways’ Board of Directors for two years to secure key information and put the necessary health and safety checks in place without success.

The council says this left the local authority with no alternative but to take back the site, given the seriousness of the condition of the building.

The charity says health and safety issues were dealt with when raised with them and in February trustees told the council’s Place Scrutiny Board that the sports centre was financially on an even keel.

Mr Fear said the charity has asked for meetings with Leader of Calderdale Council, Coin Tim Swift (Lab, Town), Deputy Leader Coun Jane Scullion (Lab, Luddenden Foot) or Cabinet, as well as Halifax MP Holly Lynch but by the start of this week had not got a response.

Following the closure – which the charity described as – Centre at Threeways has been thrown into the insolvency process.

But the equipment in the sports centre was owned by the charity and at some point the council had to discuss the issue with it.

“I’m waiting for them to come and talk to us,” he said.

Mr Fear said the charity was particularly concerned that groups who used the sports centre would go elsewhere and it would be difficult to get them back, risking the future of buildings that had given so much to the community.

In a statement issued following the closure, Vice-Chair Colin Davies, on behalf of the board of Centre at Threeways, said there was no doubt the Threeways journey had been challenging given the scale of the project and the inherited condition of the building itself.

“However, the charity despite its financial challenges has made significant improvements to sections of the premises through grants and social finance and has delivered significant social benefit to the local community through the dedicated work of its volunteer Board of Trustees, a small staff team and the tremendous support of community volunteers all of whom share our love for our community and commitment to change.

“Throughout the past few months we have attempted to convey to council officers and members our position in not being able to surrender the lease back to the council.

“There have been clear reasons backed by legal precedent why this has not been possible despite our willingness to work with the council.

“While the potential of the continuation of the charity beyond the life of the lease was at least a possibility discussed by both parties, trustees could not see a way of surrendering the lease without having to immediately declare insolvency as the lease provided income for the charity including a tenancies with NHS Property Trust and Calderdale Council themselves,” he said.

Mr Davies said the Centre at Threeways Board would like to thank every person who had stood alongside them over the past seven years as they faced the “dreadful task” of winding up the charity over the coming weeks.

“This has been a case study of community resilience of teamwork and of passionate social change agents coming together to put heart and soul behind this fantastic project.

“There are significant lessons to be learned and many more been learned along the way.

“Our hope is that in some way the work of the charity has left a legacy in north Halifax which has made a difference and will continue to encourage community activism for many years to come,” he said.

Mr Thompson said the asset transfer was always very ambitious and the level of determination and commitment to provide a wide range of facilities and services within the community has been impressive.

“This is a well-used and much loved centre within the heart of the community,” he said.

Although the Sports Centre, which was operated directly by Threeways, is currently closed, all the members who have contacted the council are being supported to find suitable alternative facilities which meet their needs and also support local community sport provision wherever possible, says the authority.

Throughout March all members of the Threeways Sports Centre can use Calderdale Council’s sports and fitness facilities upon presentation of their membership card and subject to terms and conditions.