New 'Life' for Warsop Town Hall with plans for a 'thriving' community hub

Warsop Council has been in talks with Ollerton-based Lifespring Church and community centre after a 2021 public consultation narrowly recommended the authority find a new use for the building which celebrated its ninetieth birthday this August.

A public consultation was issued after the council announced its financial constraints over ownership and maintenance of the Town Hall, leading to the “exploration of more viable ownership solutions.”

Lifespring is an established church and organisation with a “thriving” church and community centre in Ollerton.

The group also branched out into Church Warsop in recent years, located on Wood Lane, but were keen to relocate into a more central building in the Parish.

Lifespring run services to alleviate poverty – supporting residents with social, educational and health needs in the North Nottinghamshire area.

Liz Phillips, church representative, said: “We are excited to have the opportunity to work closely with the people of Warsop Parish.

“There have been many people who have helped us get to this point for which we are grateful.

“There is much to do but together we can make the Town Hall a thriving community hub as it once was.”

After the initial consultation, a community group of residents formed to help seek a viable ownership solution to save the Town Hall from closure.

In a bid to enable the asset transfer to happen, Warsop Council made a formal request to remove restrictive clauses from the Town Hall agreement.

A series of meetings between the Parish Council, Mayor Andy Abrahams and Mansfield Council paved the way for a decision to eliminate the clauses and allow for a transfer to occur to save the building.

All parties involved are pleased the 1930s-built landmark will remain in community use for many years to come.

Councillor Karen Hardy, Warsop Council Chairperson, said: “This will make a huge difference to what we can achieve for Warsop Parish.

“I would like to thank the Mayor for recognising the value of Lifespring’s proposal and for enabling us to take it forward.

“It has been a pleasure working with both Lifespring and the Mayor on this project, and I believe it will bring many benefits to our Parish.”