Scheme launched to protect future of Sudbury Snooker Club, in North Street, as community asset

Councillors are hoping to protect the future of a snooker club.

Sudbury Town Council voted in favour at its extraordinary council meeting last week to nominate the club building in North Street, Sudbury, for listing as a community asset.

If granted by Babergh District Council, it would mean that if the building was ever sold, the community would be given six months to buy it.

The listing would also be referenced in any future planning applications for use.

The move follows a recent planning application by D&A Property Developers Limited to convert the first floor into four flats.

The application prompted nearly 130 public objections and was refused by the district council, which said prior approval was needed.

At the town council meeting, six councillors voted in favour of now nominating the building as a designated community asset – but not all
agreed.

The proposal to nominate was put forward by Cllr Tim Regester.

He was backed by Cllr Adrian Stohr, who said: “As a business and a community organisation, it is something we should really strongly try to protect.

“People want a snooker club and to allow this to slip through our fingers would be a tragedy.”

The building has been home to Sudbury Snooker Club and Function Room since 1985 and also serves as a meeting place for community groups.

Tim Ayrton, founder of the Sudbury-based charity Number 72, who spoke from the public gallery, said: “Sudbury snooker club has been here now for 45 years and has taken on an increasing community focus in that time.

“I am afraid there are not the facilities available to play snooker and there are not many available for the sort of activities that the snooker club offers, for children and other activities like the meetings, wedding receptions and so on.

“It is a greatly-loved benefit to the town which is used by a lot of the community and, as someone who has worked with families at Number 72 for 20 years, I would recommend to you that we need places like the snooker club.

“If that was to close then we would lose a considerable asset for this region. It is reducing isolation and preventing people being left alone and that is very important.”

Mr Ayrton also pointed out that the club was home to the Sudbury Royal British Legion, which lost its own venue and then had to move out of the town’s Conservative club.

Cllr Melanie Barrett, however, said: “I won’t be supporting this. Six months could be a long time for a business owner to hang about while they are waiting for the community to put forward a bid.

“I would think there was more of a case for this in perhaps a smaller village community where there is very limited public spaces that are available for people to meet.

“In Sudbury we are tripping over places that are available for people to book, to meet with their community groups, meet socially.

“I really don’t think there is a really good case for this. It’s anti-business, really, which I can’t support and I don’t think we know enough about it.”