In January 2006 Forum House was in receivership. The receiver was looking to sell the property and it was suggested that the market rate could be in excess of £750k. BNDfC negotiated with the receivers and offered £450k, which would come from the money already allocated for the development of Spital Hill through the Transformational Projects.
At a meeting in January 2006 the Board Members present agreed that it would be a good idea to keep these resources in community ownership and prevent other commercial interests taking on the property. Chief Executive, John Clark advised the Board that no further costs would be incurred by BNDfC as the office element of the building required no further works.
Forum House was purchased as part of the BNDfC Asset Strategy. The principle underpinning the strategy is that assets remain in community ownership beyond the lifetime of the BNDfC programme. The building will provide a base for the key initiatives aimed at increasing skills and employment opportunities for residents of the area. Jobnet@Burngreave is too small to house the expanded range of providers and services.
Forum House will act as a one-stop-shop and include: Burngreave Opportunities, Community Learning Campaign, Supporting Business & Enterprise along with a base for the Streetworx project and the Burngreave Youth Council which is currently being developed.
The decision to go ahead with the purchase was made at the February 2006 Board meeting.
An article regarding BNDfC Asset Management Strategy will be in a future edition of the Messenger.