‘No-brainer’ plan backed to swap disused Ashfield community centres for affordable homes

Ashfield Council says the buildings have remained largely unused and ‘unsustainable’ since the pandemic.

It has now unanimously backed its own plans to demolish them so four social homes can be added to its housing stock.

The authority says demand has declined for the two sites, at Brierley House, on Brierley Road on Sutton’s Carsic estate, and Mill House, on Mill Lane, Huthwaite.

Council figures show Brierley House had about 568 hours of usage in 2019/20, meaning it was used for about a quarter of the time.

However, last year it was used for just five hours, or 0.2 per cent of the time it was available for bookings.

The authority adds Mill House has faced a “similar decline” since 2019/20, but had zero bookings or usage in 2022/23, with neither centre generating any income for the authority despite incurring day-to-day running costs and repairs exceeding £8,000 each last year.

This does not include the cost of long-term improvements to ensure each centre remains fit for purpose which are estimated at £36,000 for Mill House and £37,000 for Brierley House over the next five years, with longer-term costs “significantly higher”.

Now the authority’s cabinet has unanimously supported plans to demolish both centres, so new affordable homes can be created in their place.

The latest cabinet meeting heard both sites are “unsustainable” with limited demand and could become key locations for new housing.

Brierley House has been earmarked for two two-bedroom bungalows, with two semi-detached homes planned at Mill House.

In total, the cost of building the new homes is expected to be £743,000, with Homes England funding to be requested to cover some costs.

Coun Tom Hollis, cabinet member for strategic housing, said: “This has no impact upon residents.

“We have a clear ambition to build social homes across the district and to find affordable and good locations for them.

“Of the 5,824 hours these rooms could have been used and rented for, we had zero regular users. Clearly these spaces could be better used and to have social homes is extremely important.

“If you look at other venues – there’s the All Saint’s Centre in Huthwaite which is 50 yards down the street and publicly available with regular hours.

“It’s the same in Carsic with multiple venues people can use within a very close distance in Sutton town centre and within the estate itself.”

The proposal was backed by the cabinet, meaning the council will now draw up detailed plans for the housing.

Coun John Wilmott, cabinet member for governance, said: “This is a no-brainer. If the centres are not being used for their intended purpose, they should be used for a useful purpose.

“What’s better than council and affordable homes? So many people are on our waiting list – an incredible amount of people.”

The decision is part of a wider plan launched by the Ashfield Independent administration last month to build more than 200 social homes between now and 2027. This followed the administration meeting its pledge to build 100 social properties in the previous four-year council term to May 2023.