Efforts to save the Brontë connected Red House Museum were scuppered by Kirklees Council, a councillor has claimed.

The Examiner has revealed that the council tried to sell the Gomersal venue to the Friends of Red House Museum that had already disbanded.

An asset transfer process with three other organisations has also failed and the museum estate is set to be put up for sale.

Now a Kirklees councillor, who was president of Friends of Red House and a member of another group who tried to take on the site, has strongly criticised officials’ handling of the process, saying she is “furious” and will not give up.

Clr Lisa Holmes, Conservative member for Liversedge and Gomersal
Clr Lisa Holmes, Conservative member for Liversedge and Gomersal

Clr Lisa Holmes says her group had plans for a significant cash injection to the site while taking on the adjacent Gomersal Public Hall at the same time.

But their bid fell down amid complications with the ownership of the public hall and the levels of commercial activity planned for the former museum.

She says the museum is now lost but has vowed to continue to fight for a re-think on Kirklees’ plans to sell the historic site to the highest bidder.

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Clr Holmes has appealed to Kirklees Council laywers for any sale of Red House to be put on hold until an appeal or internal review is held.

If one is not offered she has vowed to complain to the Local Government Ombudsman.

“I don’t think Kirklees Council’s cabinet ever had any intention of letting us take over Red House Museum,” she claimed.

“They saw a building they could sell and put the proceeds into the ‘council pot’.

“What they miss is that our plans would have given long term benefit to many through early intervention and prevention work of various kinds, a youth offer and a huge amount of work preventing social isolation.

“In addition it would have generated future business rates income.

Red House Museum, Gomersal

“But instead, their approach is to take the money and run by selling the site to the highest bidder.

“Yet again the people of Kirklees suffer.”

She added: “I am furious and not intending to give up on this.”

The Cabinet member responsible, Clr Graham Turner, said he strongly disagreed with Clr Holmes’ claims.

He said all three bids had not met the strict criteria set out in the asset transfer process.

He said: “If we wanted to sell it, why would we have gone through this process that takes a lot of time and effort?

“Wherever there’s an interest we prefer to asset transfer buildings we can’t support.

“But this bid wouldn’t have been a good deal for the residents of Kirklees.

“We have already asset transferred a significant number of buildings to community organisations and parish councils.

“Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to transfer it to them, but they failed to meet the defined criteria and so it moves to the next stage.”

Referring to the sale plan, he added: “Whatever you think about it we have to save £54m this year.”