Lightwaves: Former council pool and leisure centre set to be handed to community trust

New proposals include using Lightwaves Leisure and Community Centre in Wakefield as a venue for padel tennis, a cinema, gaming and sporting events.

Wakefield Council said the 44-year-old building required “significant investment” and has recommended its disposal under a community asset transfer (CAT).

The centre, on Lower York Street, opened in 1982 but ceased operating as a council-run asset in 2011 after it was deemed to have “run its course” following the re-building of the city’s main leisure facility on Sun Lane.

In 2013, Lightwaves Community Trust (LCT) was granted a 25-year peppercorn lease on the building, which now hosts more than 30 community, religious, education and social groups.

Senior councillors are expected to agree to transfer ownership of the property to LCT at a meeting on March 17.

A report to cabinet members said the trust could obtain grants worth more than £750,000 if the proposal was approved.

It said: “A transfer of the freehold is intended to free up and empower the trust to raise the necessary funding to enable the Lightwaves Centre to carry out important refurbishment works that will help realise its ambitions and growth.

“The trust’s operation of the Lightwaves Centre is seen as a success story, with many users and a wide range of activities taking place.”

According to the report, the property had an estimated market value of £210,000 but required a significant structural upgrade.

The document added: “A building of this age and type does come with significant liabilities attached to it.

“As things stand, the trust does not have the financial resources to undertake all the refurbishment works that are considered key to the continued success of Lightwaves.

“Over the same period, the council has needed to reflect on the realities of the more significant funding environments, and its own requirement to significantly reduce its asset base and expenditure on property and assets more generally.”

A draft business plan submitted by the trust included opening two padel courts, capable of generating around £60,000 a year.

Other potential incomes streams identified include leisure, gaming, and sporting events, such as mixed martial arts, boxing and “hosting the world Rubik’s cube contest.”

A cinema club hosting regular screening events for members had an “annual income target” of £7,000 and plans were also in place to rent out office space within the building.

The report said: “Access to a new range of foundational grants, made possible if freehold ownership of the property, can be obtained, with aspirations to pursue sums in excess of £750,000.”

The transfer would be subject to a condition restricting future use of the building to community or charitable purposes.