Community hall set to reopen after nine months

A community hall which has been closed for nine months could return to use under plans to change how it is run.

Shropshire Council said it asked local groups for expressions of interest when it shut Shifnal Youth Club and there were a number of organisations "eager to take it on".

The authority, which owns the building, is looking to reduce its costs to avoid having to declare itself effectively bankrupt, but ruled out selling the land for development.

It said its plan instead was to pass on such assets to smaller local authorities, adding it was in talks with Shifnal Town Council, its preferred candidate to take over, about a lease agreement.

Previously, the building was run by trustees, but they chose to hand it back to Shropshire Council and concrete blocks were installed to seal off the car park.

Shropshire Council said it carried out a thorough evaluation to decide whether it was better to develop the site, but it was agreed it should remain a community asset.

It said: "A lease agreement is currently being worked on and we hope the building will soon get back to being utilised and become a benefit to the whole community."

Giving control to the town council would ensure "the building is put to good use and enable a wide range of community groups to access the facility", it said.

Shifnal Town Council said it had commissioned a structural survey "to assess the viability of an asset transfer from Shropshire Council".

It said that survey was "awaiting review by all parties" and added: "These legal transfers are complex and therefore take time."

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