Potential councillors currently out on the trail ahead of all-out Calderdale elections in May are urged to support a campaign to re-open a much-loved arts centre.

The Save Square Chapel Campaign is asking Calderdale Council election candidates to support efforts to reopen Square Chapel Arts Centre in Halifax.

The campaign then wants newly elected councillors to urge the authority to redouble its efforts to bring Square Chapel back as a community arts centre.

Save Square Chapel Campaign has published a template local people can use to contact their candidates to ask them to take up Square Chapel.

Save Square Chapel for the People campaigners lobby Calderdale councillors on their way into the meeting

placeholder image — Save Square Chapel for the People campaigners lobby Calderdale councillors on their way into the meeting

It has also contacted the leaders of the parties fielding candidates with a similar message, said a spokesperson.

February this year marked the first anniversary of the centre’s sudden closure and the campaigners say: “It is time to bring the lights back on – over a year of darkness is too long.”

Earlier this spring Square Chapel Community Interest Company (CIC), the operators of the centre, said there might be some welcome news soon.

Arts Council England (ACE), which has a charge on the building, says it is committed to working with Calderdale Council and other local partners to ensure the building is used as an arts centre.

The council says that while it does not own Square Chapel, it is keen to see it brought back into use as an arts centre and is in ongoing dialogue with ACE about the matter.

The campaigners feel pressure needs to be kept up to get Square Chapel Arts Centre returning to its role as a “vibrant and inclusive space for diverse culture, arts and socialising, a vital home for local arts organisations and a hub for community outreach and creative jobs.”

One of the campaign convenors, Sandra Shearn, said: “Many individuals and organisations have expressed interest and support in reviving the space; we need Arts Council England to bring about change by enforcing the charge they have which requires that the building be used as an arts centre.

“We will keep on with the campaign until Square Chapel is back where it belongs – at the heart of the creative arts in Calderdale.”