Appeal for support in bid to buy community centre

Joe Peall said he would like to return the Polygon Centre in Alfreton to the community

A campaign group is appealing for people to sign an open letter to a council as part of a bid to buy a former youth centre and return it to the community.

The Polygon Centre, in Alfreton, is being sold as part of Derbyshire County Council cost cutting measures and music teacher Joe Peall wants to purchase it after raising £80,000.

It was due to be sold at auction but Mr Peall said he successfully applied to Amber Valley Borough Council for it to become an asset of community value, which "stops the clock" on the sale, giving community groups until May to bid.

Derbyshire County Council said it was in "very positive dialogue with several parties" who were "interested in acquiring the building".

Mr Peall said local people know the Polygon Centre as a youth centre, with a reputation as being a "great, inclusive space"

Mr Peall's campaign group - Polygon Centre CIC - has now written an open letter to the county council which will form part of the bid, alongside a business plan.

Mr Peall, who lives in Alfreton, said: "It is urging the council to take our really compelling case, and the more people that sign, the more public support that will demonstrate and the better our chances will be of winning the bid."

He added the group wanted to restore the centre's potential and "return it as a community centre".

The 28-year-old added: "It will have many uses. There is lots of office space, and there is a great central space that can be used for groups - coffee mornings, choirs, forest schools.

"We are thinking of having a parkrun hosted there. So all sorts of things that will really benefit the community."

The centre had a guide price of £75,000 when it was listed for auction, which Mr Peall said the group will be offering.

He said it had raised £80,000 through investment and crowdfunding, and any remaining money would be used to get it up and running.

The open letter is online and paper copies are in pubs and coffee shops around the town, said Mr Peall.

A Derbyshire County Council spokesperson said: "We are currently in very positive dialogue with several parties including community interest companies (CICs) and groups who are interested in acquiring the building, outside any auction process."

The authority added the sale was part of a review of the future of all buildings and land it owned, "including selling them and reinvesting the proceeds into front line services, helping to protect jobs and reducing our financial deficit".

"The Polygon Centre has not been used to directly deliver community activities for quite some time and in recent years it has only been used as an office base for council officers," the spokesperson added.