NELSON'S Civic Theatre is still not available for public hire despite being saved from closure, it has been revealed.

Councillors on the Nelson Committee raised concerns about the theatre being effectively "closed" to the public, even though they had been reassured its use by Sure Start would save it from closure.

The Government-funded community organisation, for people with children under four in deprived areas, uses it for daily activities such as mums and toddlers groups and dads' help services.

The former Sunday school building in Stanley Street, which is owned by Pendle Council, was threatened with closure last year due to a lack of cash to fund repairs.

Its immediate future was secured when Sure Start Bradley and Whitefield asked to rent it for nine months while its usual centre at St Mary's Church was being refurbished.

It agreed to carry out some of the most urgent repair work while it was using the building.

But Coun Mohammed Iqbal, chair of the Nelson Committee, asked for an item to be placed on a committee meeting agenda to discuss the fact that the hall closed for public hire.

Coun Dorothy Ormrod said: "I am dismayed that the public can't hire the theatre because it has closed down and that's what we were saying it shouldn't do.

"In the definition, Nelson Civic Theatre has closed down - because Sure Start is using it but nobody else can."

Council director of services, John Kirk, told councillors: "What we have is a building that is going to be used more than it has been.

"If we look at the number of hours per week that were spent in the Civic Theatre it was a very small number over a period of time. One letter I had this week was from a person who hires the building for one day every November. Why keep the building open for that when there is other perfectly good accommodation?

"The amount of use of that building will be significantly more. It will be in use every day by Sure Start, providing a service for the town."

David Hough, who attended the meeting as an observer for Pendle Leisure Trust, set up by the council to run local leisure services, reassured councillors that people who had planned to hire the civic hall had been accommodated elsewhere at the same rates.