EDUCATION bosses at Lancashire County Council are locked in negotiations to buy Carnforth's old Borwick Hall. The current owners Lancashire Youth Club Association (LYCA) say they can no longer afford to run their share of the Tudor Hall residential training and conference centre. Andrew Wilson, chairman of the LYCA, said the decision to quit the hall was made last year because it was losing money.

He said: "As a charity we could no longer afford to continue the partnership and we were running out of money. We could no longer subsidise a loss-making residence."

Rumours that old Borwick Hall was going be closed down were quashed in a staff announcement two weeks ago. But if County Hall cannot buy LYCA out, Mr Wilson conceded that it would lead to a very unsatisfactory situation.

A spokesman for the County Council told the Citizen: "Consideration is being given to the possible purchase of old Borwick Hall linked with the relocation of some education activity offered at a centre in Richmond North Yorkshire.

"No firm decisions have been taken but views are being sought from staff at schools who use the centre."

The LYCA bought old Borwick Hall back in 1970 and five years later Lancashire County Council built new Borwick Hall which they still run. The two organisations run the whole complex, which stands in 10 acres of grounds, in partnership.

Last year the LYCA made large numbers of staff redundancies across the county.

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