Austerity has meant bidding farewell to many public buildings and spaces across the UK including parks, libraries, town halls and public swimming pools .

But one beloved former museum in Dewsbury looks set to have a new, bright future as a community hub courtesy of a project that has received the backing of the public and the town’s MP.

Since before it was closed in December 2016 Dewsbury Park Mansion, in Crow Nest Park, has been the focus of a passionate campaign by local volunteers to save it from commercial sale.

Now members of Dewsbury Park Mansion Community Hub - formerly the Friends of Dewsbury Park Mansion - are edging closer to taking ownership of the site. The final cost of the project could top £2m.

During a period of continuing uncertainty for many public buildings it looks like there may be light at the end of the tunnel for the 18th century building.

And it appears to be bucking the trend of closure and sell-off that prompted national charity Locality to make a Freedom of Information (FoI) request which revealed almost 500 buildings and spaces in Yorkshire and the Humber were being sold off every year.

"They’re being sold off for short-term gain to fill holes in council budgets.”

Its report, entitled The Great British Sell Off, prompted Locality CEO Tony Armstrong to describe the phenomenon as “sell-off on a massive scale”.

He added: “[These buildings] are owned by the public and they’re being sold off for short-term gain to fill holes in council budgets.”

However Kirklees Council is said to be looking favourably at the Hub’s plan to resurrect the mansion by splitting it between community and commercial use.

The seven-strong board - Jenifer Devlin, Gill Young, Pam Lonsdale, Paul Moore, Allison Cotterill, the Rev Simon Casey of Dewsbury Minster, and Jax Lovelock - have commissioned architectural designs to illustrate their concept of how the building could look as a hub.

Live-in guardians currently keep the building secure. But once the hoped-for asset transfer is approved the Hub will welcome “anchor tenants” into the building from the creative and/or health communities. The use would be split on a 70/30 basis, with the majority of space earmarked for community use.

“The mansion is already demonstrating that there is a need for space to house these things,” said Hub co-founder Jax Lovelock.

“The council understands the risks but they are working with us to make sure that it is moving forward. it could be a huge benefit to the local community culturally, socially and economically.

“My gut tells me that the asset transfer will go through but we cannot be complacent. If we fall down at any point, that’s it. It goes to commercial sale.”

To raise funds the Hub will become a charitable community benefit society - similar to a co-operative - in which supporters will effectively buy shares in it. One similar project elsewhere in Yorkshire recently raised £450,000 via a similar share offer.

Commented Jax: “That ownership aspect is essential to making it work.”

Welcoming anchor tenants on site will also provide an income, but in addition the Hub expects to host weddings, funeral teas and conferences as well as outdoor events.

Revenue raised will support operational costs and staffing but will also be ploughed back into health and well-being aspects that benefit the local community.

“For them it’s not just a job."

“Council officers are working with us to demonstrate that we have a viable plan,” said mother-of-two Jax, 39, who works as a freelance consultant on creative projects.

“We have also had terrific support from our sister group the Friends of Crow Nest Park as well as park staff, who have allowed us to use their office space for meetings. They have been amazingly welcoming and supportive.

“For them it’s not just a job. They do fundraising off their own backs. I cannot sing their praises highly enough.”

The completion of the asset transfer and the resurgence of the mansion will also be a tribute to two principal campaigners who have recently died.

Long-serving former Kirklees councillor Denis Ripley died in January, aged 85. And Gill Gaskin, the warden at Dewsbury Minster, died at Christmas, aged 70.

Says Jax: “We took a massive hit with their deaths. The amount of stuff that they did is off the scale.”