Former civic offices sold off despite protests

Protests were staged outside Rothwell's former council building in October

A town's former civic offices have been auctioned off despite a plea from residents to keep the building in public hands.

Rothwell's old district building, which dates back to the 19th Century, was sold for £364,000 on Wednesday.

Labour-run Leeds City Council said the decision was forced by the £65m budget shortfall it is facing.

But Liberal Democrat councillors in the town have attacked the move.

The building on Marsh Street had been transferred to Leeds City Council when local government was reorganised in the 1970s and was subsequently used to accommodate staff.

After it closed in 2016, the Friends of Rothwell Civic Enterprise (FORCE) was set up to negotiate a community takeover of the building, which would have seen local groups allowed to use it.

The council had vacated the offices in 2016 and had been in negotiations with a local group about a community takeover of the building

However, the council has begun selling off many of the properties it owns as a result of its financial difficulties.

Ruth Webster, from FORCE, said there was sadness and uncertainty in the town with the identity of the successful bidder and their intentions for the building unknown at present.

"People just regarded that building as the landmark in Rothwell," Mrs Webster said. "You could see it from all directions.

"If the council didn't want us to have the building, they could have told us seven years ago rather than giving us hope and letting us put hours and hours of work into a takeover.

"The amount they've made from it is a drop in the ocean. It's peanuts, really. It's not going to fund many projects they want to spend it on."

Posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, Rothwell Lib Dem councillor Stewart Golton said it was "one of the most disheartening days in my 25 years" as an elected member and accused the local authority of "ignoring" the community's takeover efforts.

Residents demonstrated outside the venue in October when news of the council's decision to sell the building first broke.

At the time, a spokesperson for the local authority said it was trying to plug a £30m gap in its finances.

They said: "In order to meet this challenge, and fulfil the legal obligation to deliver balanced budgets each year, we have reached the stage where we need to look at every option no matter how unpalatable, which along with the possibility of compulsory redundancies also includes building closures, asset sales and stopping or reducing some council services, which will no doubt have an impact."

The council said it was “important” the building was sold to reduce the costs of having to hold and maintain it.

It added: "Given the scale of the funding shortfall we will be looking at every building in the council estate from the Civic Hall to local community facilities, to identify what can be disposed of while still providing services to the public."

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