Norwich Wensum Lodge's future up in air as deadline looms

Community groups have until early April to come up with bids to take over the city centre building, which has provided adult learning courses since the 1960s.

Norfolk County Council's Conservative-controlled cabinet voted last summer to close the centre, paving the way for its potential sale.

The King Street venue was declared an asset of community value, giving local groups six months to come up with bids to buy the site.

That period comes to an end on April 4, after which the council would be able to put it up for sale on the open market.

Wensum Lodge in Norwich (Image: Sonya Duncan)

The council says talks with community groups have taken place and they have been given time to consider and potentially submit a bid.

After the moratorium period ends the council will be able to enter into a contract to sell the premises, including to interested community groups.

The council's decision to shut the centre, which it said was no longer fit for purpose, sparked controversy, protests and the creation of a Friends of Wensum Lodge group to fight for its future.

The closure of Wensum Lodge prompted protests (Image: Dan Grimmer)

Courses at the centre stopped at the end of last year. Most are now run at other venues, although the council has yet to find an alternative place to teach pottery and silversmithing sessions.

READ MORE: Wensum Sports Centre in Norwich reopens after £50,000 revamp

Margaret Dewsbury (Image: Archant)

Margaret Dewsbury, the council's cabinet member for communities and partnerships, said: "We are no longer delivering our adult learning service from Wensum Lodge and we have successfully moved 14 ongoing courses to other venues in Norwich.

"We have paused our pottery and silversmithing sessions while we continue to explore opportunities for an appropriate alternative venue elsewhere in the city.

"We deliver courses at around 130 venues across Norfolk, including other venues in the centre of Norwich.

"Our recent Ofsted report highlighted that learners appreciate the vast number of community venues that the service uses because they can access learning locally, including online, and this widens participation in Norfolk."