Kirklees Council tried to sell one of its museums to a community group that no longer existed, it is claimed.
Amid huge cuts to its budgets, the council decided to close Gomersal-based Red House Museum last December.
The Examiner has learned that the council’s bid to asset transfer the venue to volunteers has failed, despite three bids from interested groups.
Following the unsuccessful process, council officials wrote to the Friends of Red House Museum asking if they could raise the funds to buy the property.
But the group had been wound up in January and so did not respond.
The future of the Grade 2 listed museum – which showcases the home of Mary Taylor and her links with author Charlotte Brontë – is now unknown.
It is thought the council will attempt to sell the small estate to a private buyer.
Michael McGowan from Red House Generation Group, whose bid was turned down by Kirklees officers, has lashed out at the “inadequate and seriously flawed” asset transfer process.
Mr McGowan, a former Labour Member of the European Parliament, has written a scathing letter to council bosses, accuses the council of “cultural vandalism” and questions the expertise of the officials involved in the process.
Mr McGowan says neither elected councillors nor officers from the museums and galleries service were involved in the decision making panel that turned down the bids.
He said: “We were told that the group Friends of Red House had been written to and offered six weeks to declare an interest in buying the property and then they would have six months to raise the funds.
“But it has been widely reported in the local press that the Friends of Red House no longer exists. It is surprising that Kirklees Council are ignorant of this situation.
“It undermines total confidence in the process to be informed that Kirklees had written to a group that does not exist.”
His letter continues: “It is now sad that the Spen Valley is being robbed of its one centre of history and heritage with the selling off of this priceless community resource.”
A spokesman for Kirklees Council said it would “consider the points raised” in Mr McGowan’s letter and respond directly, adding: “We wrote to The Friends of Red House because they had submitted a Community Right to Bid application for Red House Museum, which was accepted and published on the council’s website.
“Community Right to Bid follows a statutory process and applicant groups must be informed when the council decides to sell the registered asset. The groups then have six weeks to respond and say whether they are still interested.”
The spokesman, added: “The Expressions of Interest in an asset transfer received for Red House have been assessed and none of them were felt to be suitable for progressing to a full business case.
“Therefore in line with the decision made by the Council’s Cabinet on October 3, 2016, a brief is being prepared to allow the property to be offered to the market.”
