A FINAL proposal about what Keighley Town Council should do with its civic centre is set to be brought before its next full meeting.

The council's strategy committee, tasked with finding a way forward for the troubled facility, intends to present a recommendation to the meeting on March 16 to allow members to reach a decision.

The details of the recommendation are still being drawn up but strategy committee chairman Councillor Anayat Mohammad has already voiced concern about any move to sell off the building, warning that would lose the town council a lot of money.

"The public consultation we carried out into the civic centre was very positive, and two really clear themes came out of it, he said.

"One was that Keighley's public wants to see the building retained in some way so it's a benefit to the community. The second clear direction we were given is that it should be sold.

"As elected members we'll always try to do our best for the public and for the council.

"The option of selling the building has been considered in great detail but what we found is that if we do go down that route – and I'm not saying we won't – we stand to lose a considerable amount of money.

"As committee chairman this would not be something I could easily agree to.

"The committee has been having in-depth discussions with a number of organisations with a view to seeing if they can be brought into the civic centre.

"But these discussions, which are still ongoing, haven't satisfied us yet."

Cllr Mohammad said he had written to the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner to suggest the civic centre – which was once the town's police station – would be an ideal location if it is decided to close the station in Royd Ings Avenue the future of which has been under review for two years.

Cllr Mohammad said: "We're aware there's confusion around the police station and we're aware that Keighley needs a police presence.

"We have a building which could once again be a prime site for a police station."

The North Street-based civic centre opened as a police and forensic science museum in 2012, after the town council bought and converted the empty building using two loans totalling £1.1 million.

But the centre was later revealed to be losing money, and in June last year the council confirmed it was then having to spend about £180,000 a year just to maintain it.

Although the museum, along with a cafe and gift shop in the building no longer operates, the civic centre does accommodate the town council's administrative office and hosts meetings by dance groups and other organisations.

Earlier this year, town councillors decided to seek additional quotations for the cost of fixing the building's ailing central heating system, after being quoted prices ranging from under £20,000 to more than £84,000.

Cllr Mohammad said: "Almost every member of the public we come across asks us what's going to happen to the civic centre, so it's high on our agenda.

"If there was an easy answer we'd have found it by now."

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