Campaign launched to stop closure of Haywards Heath’s Clair Hall

A campaign to stop the closure of Haywards Heath’s Clair Hall has been launched by the town’s Lib Dems.
Clair Hall, Haywards HeathClair Hall, Haywards Heath
Clair Hall, Haywards Heath

The community venue in Perrymount Road has been shut for most of the year and last month Mid Sussex District Council voted to remove it from the leisure contract with Places Leisure.

At the time Conservatives said the venue had been running at a loss for some time and was unviable to operate under current social distancing restrictions.

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On Monday (September 14), Tory cabinet members will decide on its future, with officers recommending permanent closure.

They argue that due to Clair Hall’s age, layout and changing needs of users, its level of usage has been decreasing for a number of years.

Meanwhile the cost of maintaining and repairing the building over the next 20 years is estimated to be in the range of £1million.

Lib Dems have opposed the closure of a venue ‘which has served the town so well for decades’ and have launched an online petition.

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They argue that it provides almost half of all community meeting space in Haywards Heath and would mean the loss of a valuable community resource where residents of all ages and with a huge variety of interests have enjoyed pantos, music gigs, theatre productions, comedy shows and cinema screenings.

It is also used for clinics, conferences, exhibitions, exercise classes, weddings, parties and many types of meetings.

Liberal Democrat district Councillor Richard Bates says “This is a travesty. The Conservative Council leadership have taken no account of the great value to the community which Clair Hall provides. They just don’t seem to care.”

On Monday, as well as discussing closure plans cabinet members could agree to use part of the site as a public car park, as well as looking to include a more modern community facility as part of any future regeneration scheme here or elsewhere in the town centre.

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But the Lib Dems argue the proposals do not include any plans for the future of the site apart from redevelopment with no commitment to provide a replacement community centre.

Stephanie Inglesfield, a Haywards Heath town councillor, said: “This is a time when we need to support and build our community not dismantle a key part of our local infrastructure.

“In the future more people are expecting to work from home, at least for part of the week, so entertainment and events at local venues are likely to be in more demand than ever.”

In August when support for Places Leisure was debated, Liberal Democrat councillors proposed that the council should commit to not closing Clair Hall unless like-for-like or better facilities could be made available but this was voted down by the Conservative majority.

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What do you think of the proposals? Email your thoughts to the newsdesk.

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