A community asset transfer has been completed for the Hudawi Centre and an official launch celebration is planned for later this month.
The community has now taken back control of the building in Great Northern Street, Huddersfield, after Kirklees Council decided it was surplus to requirements.
The Hudawi Cultural Centre has now been transferred to the African-Caribbean community for a term of 125 years.
The board responsible for running the building is hosting a launch event on Saturday June 20 (2pm) and everyone is invited.
The Hudawi Centre, an anagram of the words Huddersfield African West Indian Centre, was built in the early 1990s following a fire that took place at Birkby Civic, a building used by the community from the 1970s.
Natalie Pinnock-Hamilton MBE, Denzil Nurse and other community leaders worked alongside Kirklees Council to co-design the building on the proviso that sometime in the future the Hudawi Centre would be run by the community.
In November 2023 the council decided the building was surplus to requirements and offered a community asset transfer.
The transfer to the ‘Hudawi Consortium Board’ was finally completed on May 21 2026. The board is made up of individuals from the local community who bring a wealth of expertise, local knowledge and a shared commitment to the centre’s charitable purposes.
Natalie Pinnock-Hamilton MBE, who was there from the beginning and is an active board member of the Hudawi Consortium, said: “I am delighted and excited by what we have achieved. It hasn’t been easy but well worth the wait.
“From the outset myself and others have fought with the council for ownership of this building because it was promised to us back in the 1990s.
“We deserve a space to call our spiritual home, just like other communities in Kirklees. Our building will be available to everyone, and I am hopeful this is the beginning of a powerful legacy for future generations.”
The Hudawi Cultural Centre will be available to all for meetings, conferences, weddings, funerals, parties, cultural events, educational programmes, youth and employment hubs and socially focused initiatives designed to strengthen community cohesion and resilience.
For more information and bookings go to www.hudawicc.co.uk
