Council to turn pub into village social hub
COUNCILLORS HAVE approved a compulsory purchase of a pub which it is hoped will be turned into a lifeline social hub in a Calderdale village.
Calderdale council’s cabinet agreed to the council using powers under section 226 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to acquire the Holywell Inn at Holywell Green.
They also authorised the council’s regeneration boss to negotiate to enter into a back-to-back agreement to transfer the freehold ownership of the inn to Holywell Community Pub Ltd so that it can be used as a community pub and wider social hub for the village.
Councillors heard negotiations between the group, which had support from the Plunkett Foundation and had a national profile, and the owner of the building had reached an impasse. In March the cabinet agreed to grant a long-term loan of £85,000 and a short-term loan of £20,000 to supplement funding of £20,000 already available to HCPL to buy the property.
A report to councillors also outlined that the owner can object to the compulsory purchase order and have their objections considered at a public hearing which would result in a further valuation of the site and further costs incurred by the council.
Cabinet member for Regeneration and Economic Strategy, Coun Barry Collins (Lab, Illingworth and Mixenden) said it was a courageous decision for Cabinet to make as it involved committing finance but the project met the council’s aims. “In community benefit terms it seems to be one we would support and we wish it every success,” he said.
Coun Susan Press (Lab, Todmorden), Cabinet member for Communities and Neighbourhood Services, said the project’s tackling of social isolation was very important, particularly in an area with many older people, like Holywell Green.