Haywards Heath vaccination centre received £6.5m bid from business

Mid Sussex District Council's leader says Clair Hall is not up for sale

A community building being used as a Covid vaccination centre has had a purchase offer of £6.5m from a business, despite not being for sale.

Mid Sussex District Council's cabinet voted to close Clair Hall in Haywards Heath in 2020, but the decision was withdrawn following a legal challenge.

The bid was shared in a property review of the hall.

Council leader Jonathan Ash-Edwards said the council was not looking to sell the site.

Further details of the bid were not divulged for reasons of commercial confidentiality.

Since the decision to close the hall was withdrawn, the building has been used as a Covid vaccination centre and the council has commissioned consultants to explore options for the hall's future.

An interim report will be discussed at a council cabinet meeting on Monday.

Three options being considered include one to allow the refurbishment of the existing buildings by a leaseholder who could afford to maintain and run the hall and all its existing buildings.

Route to 'demolition'

To bring the building up to modern operational standards - including the removal of asbestos and paying for all repairs and maintenance - some £2.9m would need to be spent within five years.

The costs over a 30-year period, which would include the neighbouring Redwood Centre, would come to £5.7m, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mr Ash-Edwards said: "The council should stay open-minded and might need to look for something unique for the Clair Hall site to meet the needs of the local audience.

"The council is not looking to sell the site."

The council's Liberal Democrat leader, Alison Bennett, said she was concerned that the consultants' report was "driving the district down one route" - demolition of Clair Hall and its redevelopment by a third party.

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