Could much-loved Cleckheaton and Spenborough Town Hall be brought back into use?

The council’s Cabinet will be discussing the “valued” matter at their meeting next week.

The town hall was closed in September 2023 after the council confirmed that £7million would be required to repair and refurbish the building in order to reopen the building safely.

Councillors will now review a proposal to potentially hand over the running of the building to a local community group, who could take the lead in managing the town hall and raising funds for the vital improvements works.

The report to next week’s Cabinet meeting recommends inviting community groups to submit a business case to the council, detailing how they would plan to run the building as well as ideas to raise funds for its upkeep.

With its finances under strain, Kirklees Council has not been able to commit to the estimated multimillion-pound building works needed to make the building safe and bring it up to a high standard, with the town hall also costing around £200k each year to maintain.

However, it has been identified that a partnership approach could potentially unlock external funding and secure a future for the building.

Coun Graham Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance and Regeneration, said:

“Cleckheaton Town Hall has held a valued place in the community for many years – but, as a historic building, it also needs a lot of care and maintenance. There’s no shortage of love for the building, but we need a plan to make sure it’s safe and viable to use.

“Over the past few months, we’ve been talking to the local MP and members of the community about the way forward and we’re now ready to put forward a proposal.

“With the council’s finances under major strain, it’s clear we need to think innovatively about how the building is managed and how we can raise funds for vital building work.

“A partnership approach might well be the best way to bring the town hall back into use, and to give the community who love this building so much the greatest possible involvement.

“We want to put that idea out to the community, and I’d love us to be able to work with either one group or multiple to explore feasible options for this building’s future.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done, but this proposal gives us the best chance of getting Cleckheaton Town Hall back up and running.”

Earlier this week, the Cleckheaton and Spenborough Town Hall Group outlined why they believe the historic building should re-open, ahead of next week’s crucial meeting about its future.

The group, which will hold a cake stall opposite the town hall at Wetherspoons on Saturday, December 7 from 10am until noon to raise awareness of the issue, argues that the building is a significant asset that has been “at the centre of community life” in the Spen Valley for years and should not be mothballed.