Council review raises fresh questions over Lightwaves transfer
Council reviews plans to hand over former swimming pool to community trust
Wakefield Council’s Reform UK administration has launched a review of plans to hand over a former swimming pool and leisure centre to a community trust.
In March this year, senior Labour councillors agreed to proposals to dispose of Lightwaves Leisure and Community Centre under a community asset transfer.
Labour lost control of the council in May after Reform swept to power by winning 58 out of 63 seats.
The council’s new deputy leader John Thomas told a meeting that the decision had been placed under review and the 44-year-old building could still be retained by the local authority.
The centre, on Lower York Street, opened in 1982 but ceased operating as a council-run asset in 2011 after it was deemed to have “run its course” following the re-building of the city’s main leisure facility on Sun Lane.
In 2013, Lightwaves Community Trust (LCT) was granted a 25-year peppercorn lease on the building, which now hosts more than 30 community, religious, education and social groups.
Coun Thomas, who holds the cabinet portfolio for property and resources, revealed details of the review as he faced questions about the building from opposition councillors during a full council meeting.
He said: “What we have committed to is looking at the process, seeing if it is the right move.
“Is it the right contract? Is it the right deal for the council, for the charity, and also for the people of Wakefield?
“We are committed to reviewing that process.”
Coun Thomas said he had not yet spoken with the trust but planned to do so as part of the review.
He added: “If it does happen to be the right process, if it will negate the money that the council is spending on improvements and regenerating the place and the best thing would be to do a community asset transfer then that is what we will do.
“We will take independent advice but our commitment is to review the process.
“We only had certain information available before, now we have access to the full deal.”
Proposals put forward by the trust include re-purposing the venue for padel tennis, cinema, gaming and sporting events.
A report published earlier this year said the trust could obtain grants worth more than £750,000 if a deal was struck.
The document said: “A transfer of the freehold is intended to free up and empower the trust to raise the necessary funding to enable the Lightwaves Centre to carry out important refurbishment works that will help realise its ambitions and growth.
“The trust’s operation of the Lightwaves Centre is seen as a success story, with many users and a wide range of activities taking place.”
According to the report, the property had an estimated market value of £210,000 but required a significant structural upgrade.
It added: “A building of this age and type does come with significant liabilities attached to it.
“As things stand, the trust does not have the financial resources to undertake all the refurbishment works that are considered key to the continued success of Lightwaves.
“Over the same period, the council has needed to reflect on the realities of the more significant funding environments, and its own requirement to significantly reduce its asset base and expenditure on property and assets more generally.”