DISCUSSIONS are underway to secure the long-term future of a community hub in Grimsby.
The Bishop King Learning Centre, on the Willows Estate, is looking for a new tenant after the Grimsby Institute's decision to withdraw from its lease of the building.
The centre has been maintained by the Institute for the past ten years, but will be handed back to St Michael's Church, Little Coates, when its lease ends on November 1.
Canon Peter Mullins, the Rector of West Grimsby, said the building would continue to operate as a community centre with running costs being met by charging a modest fee to the wide range of groups who currently use the facility.
But he added that finding a new tenant for the training room being vacated by the Institute would secure the future viability of the centre long term.
During its ten-year lease, the Institute took on the responsibility for maintaining the entire building, using one room to deliver IT classes for adult learners, while hiring out the adjoining hall for various community events, such as bingo, dance classes, the Chatterbox breakfast mornings, and meetings of Freshney Forward and the Willows Tenants and Residents' Association.
Canon Mullins said: "Our hope is that the income from the users will cover the basic running costs, but if a separate tenant could be found for the training room that would secure the project long term."
Councillor Peggy Elliott (Lab, Freshney) said: "I have lived on the ward for 44 years and for all of those years it has been the centre of the community.
"At the moment it is viable but we could do with someone else coming in and taking on the room.
"We cannot allow it to sit and rot. It needs to be used. If anybody out there is looking for a new home, please come and have a look to see if it is suitable for your needs."
The Grimsby Institute was unavailable for comment.
