I write to you with the latest news about our quest to find more suitable premises for the bridge club.

Following my earlier update, when I told you that we had been unable to come to a satisfactory financial arrangement with the Trust at Lockwood we were approached to continue the dialogue and of course said yes. That conversation culminated with us making a full and final offer for an unfinished (large enough) space for us to refurbish into a “new” bridge club. We were able to do this thanks to additional information and help by members of our club. One of our members runs his own property development business and kindly offered to quote for any work required at cost as well as managing the project to completion. That final offer to Lockwood however has just been rejected.

Not all our eggs are in one basket as we have expanded our search for an alternative space to buy. I think it is worth pointing out that we are only actively pursuing alternatives to buy a building and knowing we can now refurbish ourselves has opened up some options.

We discovered that the Oasis Centre in Springwood (opposite the leisure centre) was for sale and have actively followed that up by visiting and negotiating with both the seller and our proposed buyer to see if some kind of deal could be reached. The Oasis Centre has step free access, toilets, kitchen, large playing area and a teaching room so coupled with its prominent central location, would be ideal. It is situated at the edge of a large car park which unfortunately is usually full during the day, Mon-Friday. However, is does have some dedicated parking and we even started some preliminary talks with Kirklees Council about the possibility of leasing some of the car park spaces. Unfortunately, we have come to the conclusion that the price the seller requires is out of our budget.

This brings me to another point that has required lots of investigation amid conflicting advice. Huddersfield Bridge Club is an Unincorporated Association, run by volunteer members and as such does not make a profit. Therefore, there is no requirement to complete annual tax returns or pay any tax EXCEPT on the disposal of a building where corporation tax will be levied. The amount of this tax liability is difficult to calculate but is based on historical building values being brough up to date. This helps to determine a profit made on selling the Cambridge Road properties, initially purchased in 1964 and 1971 respectively. There are also a few other complications thrown in and this tax can not be avoided by swapping assets for example (we did ask!) or immediately purchasing another property. We as a committee will make sure we only spend the funds remaining after tax, on any new premises and will not be presenting members with any tax demands in the future. We have engaged an accountant with knowledge and expertise in this area (Unincorporated Associations) to ensure we know exactly where we stand.

While this limits our options financially, the ability to refurbish any building ourselves (thanks Kevin) allows lots of empty clubs, associations, church halls, libraries, industrial units etc etc to come into consideration. We therefore urge members to please let us know if they spot anything central to Huddersfield with step free access and with a large downstairs area. We do have some other options to consider thanks to a new member playing on a Thursday morning (Neil) and will be considering them fully, now the Lockwood or Oasis Centre options are no longer financially viable.

If you as a member know of any buildings for sale within a mile or two of Huddersfield town centre, please let a member of the committee know.

Thank you for your patience in this matter. The committee are still determined to find a more suitable premises for Huddersfield Bridge Club with access for all, to play bridge in warmth and comfort.

Michael

12/04/24