Holme Valley Parish Council is readying to take ownership of Holmfirth Civic Hall.
And the parish council has set up charitable organisation to manage the community asset, currently owned by Kirklees Council.
The upkeep of the hall will be funded by a small increase in council tax – £10 per year for people living in band D properties.
Current owners of the hall, Kirklees Council, agreed to transfer the hall to the parish council.
Due to budget cuts the council said it was unable to continue to maintain and run the Victoria hall.
The parish council said the legal process necessary to transfer the hall was underway.
A spokesperson for Holme Valley Parish Council (HVPC) said: “After the decision by Kirklees cabinet to allow HVPC to own the freehold of Holmfirth Civic Hall, the parish council has formally agreed to proceed with the asset transfer and legal negotiations are now being pursued.
“The parish council has also set in motion the process of setting up and supporting a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) to manage the business and day-to-day running of the asset. The parish council will be responsible for the building and any initial cost implications, until the CIO is a functioning body that can apply for its own grants.
“This will secure monies for the initial costs for the community to run the civic hall and to carry out any immediate repairs, but it will also allow the parish council to support other groups and organisations which may be considering asset transfers of community buildings in the valley.”
“Depending on the success of the community in running these assets and any other devolved services the parish council and its community agree to take on, the parish council hopes to be in a position, in years to come, to reduce the precept again.
“The parish council’s vision is for the civic hall to become a successful community hub; it will continue to support the community, to help these buildings to become self-sustainable, run by the community, for the community.”
Holmfirth Civic Hall, sections of which date back to 1842, belonged to HVPC until it was taken over by the then new Kirklees Council in 1974.
The building was one of 56 Kirklees council buildings and plots earmarked for sale or transfer over the next two years.
Council officers identified the hall needed £50,000 of work.
This includes roofs (£11,000), walls, windows and doors (£19,000) and ceilings and floors (£11,000).
However, a further survey by the parish council in January this year identified remedial repairs required to walls, roofs and joinery totalling £87,000.
