THE FUTURE of a Northumberland youth hostel which was given a Royal opening last year has been safeguarded after council bosses agreed to buy it in a £650,000 property deal.
Hundreds of people turned out last summer to watch the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh officially open the flagship hostel in Alnwick, which was developed to cater for large groups of young visitors to the north of the county.
However, its future was thrown into doubt when owner, the Alnwick Community Development Trust, went into administration last September because of financial problems.
Now the threat of closure has been removed after the county council’s executive agreed to buy the hostel – together with three rented flats in Alnwick which were also owned by the trust – for £650,000.
The four properties will be purchased from the administrators, Tyneside-based Tate Walker, who are disposing of the trust’s assets to satisfy creditors.
The council plans to invite tender bids from organisations interested in paying rent to operate the youth hostel, which is regarded as a venture likely to make a decent profit.
County Hall bosses decided to make the purchase in order to safeguard a valuable tourism asset for Northumberland – and also avoid the clawback of about £160,000 worth of external grant funding for the project. That would have to be handed back if the hostel closed and stopped trading.
Since the trust went into administration, the Green Batt hostel has been managed by an independent board of three directors under licence from Tate Walker.
Yesterday directors’ chairman Ed Ford said: “This decision by the county council is an excellent outcome and I don’t think we could have hoped for anything better.
“We were absolutely distraught when the development trust went into administration and feared the possible loss of the youth hostel.
“We would have been desolate if that had happened, and are delighted with this outcome.
“We will collaborate fully with the council to make this a success.
“The county council has been very keen to have a youth hostel, providing budget accommodation for large groups of young people, in this area. A lot of work and planning went into opening it, the business model is very sound and it is of great benefit to the town.
“I believe there have been a number of expressions of interest in running it and the council will get a decent return on its investment through rent.
“The advance bookings for the new season mean we are very optimistic that it can be run in surplus and is a decent business opportunity.”
County council executive member for corporate resources Andrew Tebbutt said: “We have a duty and responsibility to protect ourselves from grant clawback.
“This requires the youth hostel to continue trading and, in the current economic situation, the most straightforward solution is for the council to purchase it and then let a concession agreement.”
The youth hostel, a former courthouse and social services building, opened last May.
It can provide accommodation for up to 57 guests in 15 en-suite bedrooms.
Dried-up funding streams and an overspend on the hostel project were cited as contributing factors to the development trust going into administration.
The Queen and Prince Phillip opened the hostel last June on a visit to Northumberland that also saw them attend a garden party held by the Duchess of Northumberland.
The advance bookings for the new season mean we are very optimistic that it can be run in surplus
