Fears over future of Halifax centre used by more than 30,000 people

Calderdale Council’s Place Scrutiny Board debated the position of the Threeways Centre in north Halifax, where the council last summer issued a notice to take it back into its control from Centre at Threeways Ltd, amid concerns over the charity’s financial viability and other issues relating to the building, including fire safety.

It is believed Threeways is the biggest site asset transferred to community control in Europe and Centre at Threeways has a 125-year lease on the Nursery lane, Ovenden, site.

Later last year the council received a petition calling for the asset to be saved was signed by 675 people, triggering the scrutiny board’s debate.

In it all sides believed there was a need to move forward from the impasse and the scrutiny board will now get a report at its next meeting outlining progress which has been made since Cabinet’s decision last summer.

Cabinet member for Regeneration and Resources, Coun Jane Scullion (Lab, Luddenden Foot), said: “I would rather the council and community organisation could reach a settlement without going to the courts.”

She also wanted to put to rest fears from people and organisations using Threeways that the building was in jeopardy.

“Let me be clear we do not intend to close Threeways as a building, we do not intend to deprive the charitable enterprises that are in the building or the right to occupancy there of current tenants,” she said.

Charity board members stressed it was important the major benefits Threeways – which includes a sports centre – offered to communities in North Halifax were not lost.

Centre at Threeways Board Chair Emma Carter said people had taken on the task of running the centre because they had passion and commitment for the centre’s work, with committed staff also often going beyond their paid hours.

Scrutiny Board Chair Coun Steven Leigh (Con, Ryburn) said the frustration on all sides was palpable.

Coun Helen Rivron (Lab, Ovenden) said the centre was vitally important to local residents in one of Calderdale’s most deprived wards.

“This safety net we have seen emerge is too important to put at risk,” she said. “We have got to draw a line under the past. We have got to look to the future.”

Centre at Threeways Director and Trustee Lawrence Fear explained the charity’s view of what had happened and reiterated they were grateful for extensive help the council had given.

A solution to financial issues would have been through a housing scheme for 55 homes at the back of the site, which had been drawn up with a potential £750,000 benefit if the land was sold to a developer.

But the charity’s request to go ahead with this was turned down by the council within weeks and the trust had been asked to surrender the lease on health and safety grounds, mainly because of lack of an adequate fire safety system, although this had since been resolved with the council’s help, he said.

Although contentious, Centre at Threeways believed the council wanted the lease to be surrendered as it could save on paying rental costs of more than £500,000 over a dozen years and would get the financial benefit from the housing scheme if it pursued it itself, Mr Fear told the scrutiny board.

Threeways Centre Trust was shut out of developments when denied access to the report about the centre which was central to Cabinet’s decision in July 2019, said Mr Fear.

The most important thing was to move forward, he agreed. “We are not asking for the status quo continuing, we realise that help is needed to go forward.

“But there is so much benefit to the local community and wider Calderdale area – this why we believe it should continue, not necessarily on the basis of the Cabinet report of July 2019,” said Mr Fear.

Support for the trust included a statement from Dr Kate Simpson, senior partner at Keighley Road Surgery who outlined the health benefits the centre was bringing.

And there was support personally for the Directors and Trustees, with Paul Holdsworth, a tenant of two units at Threeways, said: “Lawrence and Emma are Threeways, these guys have worked really hard for Threeways.

“If it is a management problem, get more people on the board – if it is a cash problem, the field is sat there,” he said.

Coun Scullion said community asset transfers like this saw property gifted to community groups, but that also brought responsibilities, including fire safety and demonstrating that going forward it was financially viable.

The July 2019 Cabinet decision had been just to take management of the centre back into council control, she said – the door had not been closed to community management of Threeways in the future.

The council’s Director of Regeneration for Regeneration and Strategy, Mark Thompson, said the object was to sustain the uses of the centre whilst returning immediate short term management back into the council’s province to get the estates fully compliant with Health and Safety law and ensure maintenance priorities could be undertaken.

“That’s a serious matter if it is not done properly,” he said, adding that, in officers’ view, short term, radical action was needed.