TOWN HALL PRICE HIKES WILL HIT LOCAL RESIDENTS

4.27.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 9th Oct 2007

Kirklees Liberal Democrat group leader, Cllr Kath Pinnock, has today accused the Conservative-run Council of risking the viability of our Town Halls.

Kirklees Liberal Democrat group leader, Cllr Kath Pinnock, has today accused the Conservative-run Council of risking the viability of our Town Halls.

Speaking today, Cllr Pinnock said "Only this summer the Conservatives held public meetings about the future of Cleckheaton, Batley, and Dewsbury Town Halls. One of the key issues that emerged from those sessions was the high charges for the Town Halls.

"Now the Conservative Cabinet is proposing to increase charges for ALL these Town Halls. In some cases the increases are well over the rate of inflation for example at Cleckheaton Town hall the main hall rate is set to rise from £250 to £275. This represents a huge 10% price hike."

The Conservatives claim that these proposals will not be implemented until the outcome of the Town Hall Review. However, if the Conservatives were serious about reducing charges for Town Hall use then they wouldn't be bringing these proposals forward in a public report.

Cllr Kath Pinnock is calling on the Conservatives to withdraw the proposals for Batley, Cleckheaton, and Dewsbury Town Halls until the review is completed. "I hope that the review will propose freezing the hire charges so that more people can afford to make use of these public halls," said Cllr Kath Pinnock.