A council has been accused of “excluding” a charity from a project to restore a historic hall following the “abrupt” end of a partnership agreement, the charity has said.

Rock Hall in Farnworth, Bolton, housed the council park rangers service before it closed in 2014 due to budget cuts.

It has been unused since and the training charity Banana Enterprise Network worked with Bolton Council to arrange for the building’s restoration through the Rock Hall Revival Project.

The Banana Enterprise Network supports unemployed people with training in self-employment, business management and personal development. 

The charity said it received a letter in January announcing its partnership agreement with the council was set to end on 31 March.

“We have been excluded from the project which we started and have worked tirelessly on for the community, since January 2020,” the charity said in a statement.

“We wish to let you know that we do not accept the council’s decision, which was taken abruptly and without giving us the opportunity to discuss it with senior management at the council.

“There are many things we could say, but for now we just want to assure you that we are exploring all avenues open to us to resolve the matter.

“Until then, please do keep supporting us while we navigate through this very difficult situation.”

The Banana Enterprise Network successfully applied for £295,000 from the government’s Community Ownership Fund for repair work at the hall and associated costs in December 2022, the charity said.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded a development grant of £466,662 to the Rock Hall Revival Project in September 2023, which contributed to the £725,000 raised for the Development Phase of the project.

The emergency repair works are being carried out by Rosslee Construction and will stabilise the condition of the hall to prevent it from deteriorating further, the charity said.

“It will also enable the [BEN] to use part of the hall internally once completed, for community activities,” the charity said.

A Bolton Council spokesperson said it was looking forward to the delivery phase of the project and to an exciting future for Rock Hall.

“We would like to thank Banana Enterprise Network for its passion and enthusiasm for the restoration of Rock Hall.

“It was its initial bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund which helped draw wider attention to the need to renovate this great local asset.

“A subsequent bid, led by Bolton Council and in partnership with BEN, was successful and this has enabled the essential repair works undertaken as part of the development phase.

“Our partnership agreement with BEN came to an end on 31 March.”