County agrees to handover of old magistrates court
Friday, 2nd August 2013.
Suffolk County Council has agreed to lease the former magistrates court in Camps Road to Haverhill Town Council, with a view to eventual sale, so the building can be turned into a hub for youth activities in the town.
The town council fought a long battle to retain the Burton Centre for the purpose, but lost out in the end to St Nicholas Hospice.
Their second choice was the magistrates court and negotiations have now reached a stage where the county has agreed to the outline business case submitted by the town council.
Now the detailed work of thrashing out the exact terms will begin.
The county portfolio holder for finance and property Cllr Colin Noble has written to town clerk Will Austin to advise him of the decision.
Cllr Noble said he fully supported the vision for the site to develop a community facility for Haverhill with open access youth provision at its heart and in approving the outline business case and some transitional funding he believed this showed Suffolk County Council’s commitment to the proposal and to ONE Haverhill.
Youth provision is one of ONE Haverhill’s two main current priorities and it has worked with the town council to produce the submission to the county, which is also itself represented on ONE Haverhill.
Sarah Howard, chairman of ONE Haverhill, said: "This is great news for the town, for our young people, and for the Haverhill Community Budget.
"By bringing youth services together under one roof and utilising a building in Haverhill has been empty for some time is just fantastic news.
"The town council and councillors are to be congratulated on their work which was their pledge for the community budget project and part of our plan to support young people in the town.
"The Haverhill Community Budget has enabled a co-ordinated youth service for the town by bringing organisations and three tiers of local government to work together in partnership to achieve something which had not been achievable for many years in Haverhill."
The town council has already set aside £150,000 for work to transform the building into what will be needed to create the youth hub.
The town council fought a long battle to retain the Burton Centre for the purpose, but lost out in the end to St Nicholas Hospice.
Their second choice was the magistrates court and negotiations have now reached a stage where the county has agreed to the outline business case submitted by the town council.
Now the detailed work of thrashing out the exact terms will begin.
The county portfolio holder for finance and property Cllr Colin Noble has written to town clerk Will Austin to advise him of the decision.
Cllr Noble said he fully supported the vision for the site to develop a community facility for Haverhill with open access youth provision at its heart and in approving the outline business case and some transitional funding he believed this showed Suffolk County Council’s commitment to the proposal and to ONE Haverhill.
Youth provision is one of ONE Haverhill’s two main current priorities and it has worked with the town council to produce the submission to the county, which is also itself represented on ONE Haverhill.
Sarah Howard, chairman of ONE Haverhill, said: "This is great news for the town, for our young people, and for the Haverhill Community Budget.
"By bringing youth services together under one roof and utilising a building in Haverhill has been empty for some time is just fantastic news.
"The town council and councillors are to be congratulated on their work which was their pledge for the community budget project and part of our plan to support young people in the town.
"The Haverhill Community Budget has enabled a co-ordinated youth service for the town by bringing organisations and three tiers of local government to work together in partnership to achieve something which had not been achievable for many years in Haverhill."
The town council has already set aside £150,000 for work to transform the building into what will be needed to create the youth hub.
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