Hunslet Hall Beeston: Community volunteers share ambitious plans as old Victorian school goes up for auction

Kurdish House Leeds (KHL) is trying to buy Hunslet Hall in Beeston, which has been put up for auction by Leeds City Council at a guide price of £435,000. Group volunteer Rebwar Sharazure says the move would help bind people in the community from all walks of life closer together.

The popular group wants to use the facility to host a food bank, job coaches to help the unemployed and as a space for children to get extra help with their education. So devoted is Mr Sharazure to the idea, he has even sold a house to help generate some of the cash, with the rest being fundraised.

The council has put the site up for auction, as other parties are have expressed interest in taking over the buildings. Bidding for the site will open on February 22.

Hunslet Hall was built in the 1870s and later became Bewerley Street Infants School. It was used for many years as offices for the council’s social care unit after the school closed, but the building is now empty.

Explaining why Kurdish House wants to take over the site, Mr Sharazure said: “There’s so many community groups across the city that are struggling because they don’t have a space and we don’t have a community centre here. It’s one of the oldest schools in Leeds and we don’t want someone to take such a beautiful historic place just to build some flats.”

Set up in 2019, Kurdish House runs a weekend school for local children and regularly goes on mammoth litter picks across the city. Under its plans, the venue would be a base for those activities and would also host yoga and sports sessions, a cafe for people to relax in and support for people on benefits.

Mr Sharazure said “everyone” would be welcome if the group is successful with its takeover bid. He said: “This is a great community. People are really nice here. We’re trying to build a friendly community where we all help each other and we build a really nice environment. We want to make the city safer, cleaner and better.”

Mr Sharazure recently sold his second home for £120,000 to help raise funds for the venture and hopes the rest will come from donations from wealthy backers and members of the public. He said he would even sell “the house I live in” if necessary.

“I’ve sold the house because I want to give this building to the community,” he said. "I want a better future for my son and this area. If I am asking other people for money, I decided I needed to put some of it up myself. But if everyone across the city was to donate a pound then we’d have enough. This is for all of them.”

Ed Carlisle, Green Party councillor the Hunslet and Riverside ward, said he supported Kurdish House’s efforts. He said: “I think it’s right and good that the site is going to be used, because it’s got lots of potential, it’s right heart of our community and at the moment it’s just redundant. Kurdish House have got some very grand plans to use it as a springboard and a platform for their own work and I think it would be great for it to be used as a real community asset.”

Labour councillor Paul Wray, who also represents the ward, said: “I’m quite supportive of a community venture taking over the site. The council has had to put it out for auction, because it can’t go into a one-on-one negotiation process with one group when there are other interested parties. That’s why it’s gone out for auction, so that the process is open and transparent.”

A Leeds City Council spokesperson added: “We are aware of multiple community groups interested in purchasing Hunslet Hall. Following the transparent auction process allows all of these interested parties the same opportunity to view and bid for the property.”