Rugby league museum is welcome in Batley, says Bulldogs’ chairman

Kevin Nicholas, chairman of Batley Bulldogs, said the club could house the museum at its Mount Pleasant stadium for far less than the £20m that has been quoted around the cost of putting it within Huddersfield’s George Hotel.

Mr Nicholas made his offer as “an alternative for consideration” after Kirklees Council backtracked on an agreement with the rugby league to use the hotel – the birthplace of the sport in 1895 – as the site of the museum.

He said the only cost to a Batley project would be the creation of a building to house the collection, which he said would be cheaper than adapting the 1850s hotel.

He described the notion of the museum as “a significant boost to the people of the town of Batley” and that the cultural and “immense” civic pride associated with it could fit the criteria to apply for money from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.

He called on the Leader of Kirklees Council, Shabir Pandor, himself a councillor for Batley West, to “make this happen and still embrace the history of our sport”.

A spokesman for Rugby League Cares, the charity that will run the museum on behalf of the league, said: “We are aware of Batley’s interest and not surprised that they, and others, recognise the need to host the proposed National Rugby League Museum in a facility which has special historical significance to the sport.

“We are looking at all options at the moment and would like to thank Batley for their proposals, which will be given due consideration.”

Responding to a request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service to comment, Coun Pandor echoed the charity’s statement. He said: “We [are] aware that Rugby League Cares are exploring all their options.”

Kirklees Council has been broadly criticised for its U-turn on using the George Hotel as the base for the National Rugby League Museum after buying the building for £1.8m and using it as “the linchpin” of a bid to win the museum.

It has been accused of making a “unilateral” decision to not use the George, of reneging on a contract, and of failing to make a formal offer of an alternative venue within Huddersfield.

The authority says says it “remains committed” to bringing the museum to Huddersfield and that a home for the museum might be found within the “cultural heart” being proposed as part of the overall £250m Huddersfield Blueprint.

It has been suggested that the reputational damage caused by the debacle to Kirklees Council could be considerable and significant, with former Wakefield MP David Hinchliffe – a member of the independent panel that voted for the Kirklees bid – describing the council as “officer-led” and “dysfunctional”.