Walsall Council U-turn on plans to demolish education centre

Plans to demolish the Pinfold Centre, used by a charity that provides training courses, to make way for a car park for a new leisure centre have been withdrawn just over a month after being lodged.

Fears were voiced that the proposals would put Frank F Harrison Community Association and dozens of jobs in jeopardy, prompting council bosses to say the authority would work with the charity to find it a new home.

But charity bosses rejoiced today as council chiefs announced they intend to revert to the original scheme and build on the existing leisure centre site. The community association, which has been providing training in the town for 30 years, has been based at the Field Close centre since February.

Bosses said the charity had already spent £20,000 on getting the building ready to provide a range of courses, including English, maths and construction, from September.

Debra Mohammed, business manager at Frank F Harrison, said: "The council did assure us they would have found somewhere else for us to go if they had continued with their plan, but we are absolutely relieved with this result. This means we will not have to move. They have decided to go back to the original plans.

"We can keep our centre open and keep providing training opportunities for people in the area." The charity currently delivers construction courses from the Construction Skills Centre, in Leamore Lane, but it has to vacate the venue by the end of this month.

The Education Support Centre, in Field Road, will also be saved due to the withdrawal of the plans. New leisure centres are planned for Oak Park and Bloxwich under a £15m scheme to replace outdated facilities.