FEARS that Brierfield Town Hall could be sold off have been voiced by local Liberal councillor Sajjad Karim and he has called for a full report on its future.

A decision by Labour and Tory councillors to suspend any further action on the Brierfield council shop project while consideration is given to the installation of CCTV in Nelson town centre puts the future of Brierfield Town Hall in jeopardy, he said.

"It is quite clear that under the Tory-Labour alliance on this issue the council shop project is effectively dead.

"This must be the only known case of both Tory and Labour councillors in a town voting to throw out such a great improvement in services to local people in order to take the money to spend somewhere else," he added.

He accused both Conservative and Labour members of regarding Brierfield as little more than a suburb of Nelson.

His vision was of the Town Hall being the thriving centrepiece of schemes to rejuvenate Brierfield town centre with the council shop providing a base for local improvement schemes, grants to improve premises and campaigns to promote Brierfield. The Tories, he said, seemed to be quite honest about not seeing any future for Pendle services at the town hall at all.

It was clear that the cash office at the town hall would not be viable for much longer with the auditors already complaining about the costs per transaction.

"Either we agree to provide a really useful modern service at our town hall or it will get closed down altogether," warned Coun Karim.

He added: "If that happens, the future of everything else that happens there will inevitably be put into jeopardy due to the increased costs they will have to bear."

He said he wanted a full report to be prepared on the future possibilities and viability of the town hall over the next five to ten years.

"If the councillors allow the situation to drift the council could be forced into a sell-off situation within a few years time and that would be a tragedy and a disgrace,' he said.

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