Community celebrates as Dudley library and medical centre is saved

The Sedgley community has welcomed the news that the future of the village's library and health services has been secured.

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A packed public meting in All Saints Church heard that a new lease for the Ladies Walk Centre was soon to be finalised.

There was loud applause when it was announced by Dudley Council's group director for housing and assets Kathy Jones that the building would remain open after March when the 25-year lease was due to expire.

A community campaign to ensure the centre remained open was launched in February over fears the centre could close if the lease was not renewed and a new home for the library would need to be found.

A series of public meetings have been held since then with Dudley Council negotiating with owners Aviva to secure a new lease for it and the health trusts that run services there.

Kathy Jones told the latest meeting that no services would move out.

She thanked the community for its efforts and making clear to the council how important the centre was.

Council leader Councillor Patrick Harley praised the council's corporate landlord team and officers for working hard to get a deal over the line.

He said the council and NHs had been charged an extortionate amount of rent and the new lease would be a far better deal for the local authority and council tax payers.

The NHS would in future be tenants of the council and a maintenance programme would be put in place for the centre.

Councillor Harley said work was also in hand to get a housing hub in the centre to serve Sedgley.

Councillor Damian Corfield, the cabinet member responsible for libraries, said he shared the community's joy that the promise made some months earlier to secure the "tremendous" building had been realised.

"At one stage there was a lot of uncertainty," he added.

He said the council was working with the police to have a police hub within the centre.

"When the Sedgley police station closed it was felt that a presence was still needed. We will continue to work on this in the background."

Dudley MP Sonia Kumar thanked the community and said: "Without you this would not have been saved."

She said that those who had signed her petition to keep Ladies Walk Centre and attended a day of action had helped achieve the desired result.

She added that work needed to be done to establish what had gone wrong with the public finance initiative that had funded the building of the centre to ensure that no other public building across the borough faced a similar situation.

Councillor Shaun Keasey said that all parties had worked together after the community made its voice heard to ensure one of the best facilities in the borough was preserved.

In response to a question about how long the new lease, starting in April, would be for, Kathy Jones said that had yet to be finalised along with a clause for future renewal.

She said that the community would be updated on the final details of the lease.

Sedgley resident John Bryant called for an expansion of the health facilities offered at the centre to make full use of the centre. He said the top floor was not in use.

The centre was originally opened in 2001 replacing the old village library and health base.

During the campaign there were rumours the centre could be used for asylum accommodation if the leased was not renewed.

Those rumours were scotched  by the council and the MP.