Delegation fights for community centre cash

LEEDS North West MP Greg Mulholland led a delegation of councillors to lobby Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander to reverse the suspension of funding for an all-purpose community centre.

The proposed Holt Park Active Living Centre, which would replace Holt Park Leisure Centre and provide a health and leisure hub in north west Leeds, had its funding suspended in July – just two weeks before work was due to start.

Mr Mulholland said: “This is a really exciting project to deliver a package that will really assist the local population. It’s in my constituency so as a government back-bencher it was important to ensure a meeting took place.”

The council had successfully bid for 30m of Private Finance Initiative credits from the department of health – but the funding was withheld as part of the coalition Government’s ongoing review on spending, which will see an announcement on further cuts next week.

The Government’s funding would not only help with building costs but would also contribute towards the running of the centre over the next 25 years.

The delegation also included councillors Barry Anderson and Mark Dobson. Coun Dobson, chair of the scrutiny board for health, said the meeting had been positive. “The cross-party delegation made a compelling case for the Holt Park Wellbeing Centre,” he said.

“It was heartening to hear that the ball is ‘still in play’ and the point was made very clearly that a centre of this kind is essential for the city and particularly the people of Leeds North West.”

Coun Anderson, councillor for Adel, agreed: “The Chief Secretary definitely listened to the case we put. We appeared to answer all of his questions in the detailed case we put before him,” he said.

The delegation will next look to present its case to the Department for Health.

“The next step is to present our case to health ministers and I am going to arrange that meeting in the next few weeks,” Mr Mulholland said.

“It is down to the Government to make the final decision and we still have a lot to do to convince ministers that this is a good use for what is a limited amount of money,” he added.