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A Cleckheaton community group is confident the local town hall has a viable future after a successful meeting earlier this month. When major financial pressures took hold, Kirklees Council’s

Cabinet agreed to mothball the Grade II-Listed town hall in September 2023 as part of a review of its estate. The move left the community outraged, with fears that the council had

“neglected” the much-loved venue. The historic hall continued to be mothballed, with a decision made for its longer term future last December. Here, Cabinet agreed that a community group

take on the hall's operation and assume responsibility for its management and repair works, if an interested party came forward. Now, this option is being pursued and on May 1, the Town

Hall Support Group held a meeting in order to gauge support from user groups like the University of the Third Age (U3A), Spen Amateur Dramatics, Heckmondwike Players and Show Stoppers,

about returning to the town hall. Last September, ward councillor and Leader of the Lib Dem group, Cllr John Lawson, explained that the U3A had halved in size since the mothballing of the

town hall, and The Cleckheaton Amateurs have struggled to find a venue as good as the stage in the hall. The nationally-acclaimed Cleckheaton Folk Festival, which helped put the town on the

map, has also stopped following the mothballing. The focus of this month’s meeting was on the use around the main hall and stage, day-to-day community interest in support for services and

the availability of office space within the building which could be available to rent. New groups, including CLEAR (Community Links) from Huddersfield, Working Chimp, a local events

management company, and Shine Productions, a northern based theatrical company, were also invited and they were keen to hire the town hall if available, according to the group. Chairman,

Chris Moore, said on behalf of the support group: "The support from the community was fantastic with representatives from across the whole of Spen Valley. It’s clear there is a swell of

optimism building. “Our goal is to make Cleckheaton Town Hall a unique regional community hub and events centre of excellence incorporating many of the ideas and suggestions that have been

mentioned. The meeting was a great boost in helping us on our journey to achieving this” When asked to provide an update on its plans for the town hall, Kirklees Council reiterated its

earlier stance. Councillor Graham Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance & Regeneration, said: “Our preferred option remains to work with a local community group to open up new possibilities

for the town hall, and at present we’re continuing to support the community group who’ve approached us to bring their proposals forward.” _GET ALL THE LATEST AND BREAKING HUDDERSFIELD NEWS

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