A Milnsbridge community co-operative club is to temporarily move as an ownership battle continues.
Members of the Red and Green Club will transfer most of their planned events to George Street’s Milnsbridge Liberal Club after finding out that their current home at the old socialist club in Bankwell Road does not have a functioning licence.
The news comes months into a fraught campaign for the club to become new owners of the building, which had gradually fallen into disuse.
At present they lease it from a limited company linked to the Old Milnsbridge Socialist Club, which was set up after the club fell into financial troubles several years ago.
Paul Salveson, founder of the Red and Green Club, said that the club are now applying for a fresh license from Kirklees Council so they can return to the building.
He said: “We were operating under the Old Milnsbridge Socialist Club’s company license but have since been informed that the company has been liquidated and Kirklees Council want us to apply for a new license ourselves.
“We’d like a permanent license eventually and are putting together our application so hope to return everything to the club in around two month’s time.
“In the meantime, we’re thankful to the Milnsbridge Liberal Club for their help.
“Hopefully the license will also help us push forward with the sale of the building, although there is uncertainty regarding the current ownership.”
Now no-one officially owns the socialist club premises, due to confusion between the old socialist club trustee board and new club secretary and Sheepridge councillor Jean Calvert about the process needed to ratify members so they can be made its official owners.
If this was done it would help determine the club’s future, such as deciding whether to revive it as the socialist club or sell it to the Red and Green Club.
One trustee, Phil Nicholas, said: “We still haven’t head anything from Jean since last autumn, who is the one who needs to collect the information from us to start the ownership process.
“I’ve spoken to every trustee and she’s not made any contact with them to ask for signatures.
“Until that happens, we can’t do anything.”
Jean said: “It’s just a process that takes forever and it’s very complicated.”
