THE future of a community health centre in Barton Hill is in safe hands after its trustees took over the ownership of the property.

Following 18 months of negotiation the board of the Wellspring Healthy Living Centre bought the £2.8-million building for a peppercorn rate of £5,000 from the previous owners, the Easton and Lawrence Hill Neighbourhood Management.

The deeds for the building were handed over to the Wellspring board this week, and the people behind both organisations hope the move will secure the future of health services for residents in the area.

Wellspring opened its doors in 2004 following investment from Community at Heart, a £50 million community programme funded by the government.

Since then it has been managed by a resident board of trustees, offering medical services, mental health projects, arts programmes and therapy clinics for more than 9,000 people.

Until December the building itself, in Beam Street, was owned by Community at Heart's successor, the Easton and Lawrence Hill Neighbourhood Management group, a resident-led organisation that works to make positive changes in the area.

Boards of both organisations wanted to ensure Wellspring's sustainability, especially in the face of fierce competition for grant and public sector funding.

With the handing over of the deeds the Wellspring board now owns the building's freehold and can use it as a resource to generate additional income.

Margaret Castle, chairman of the Wellspring board, said: "The Wellspring Healthy Living Centre has reached another milestone in its history, and is now the proud owner of its freehold.

"Wellspring was the brainchild of local resident Reg Gregory, who is now sadly not with us. Thanks to funding from Community at Heart and the belief and commitment of local people, this beautiful building was built and is now the responsibility of the community.

"We very much thank everyone involved for their continued faith in our ability to manage this centre that local residents and the wider community find warm, welcoming and caring."

Dominic Murphy, chairman of Easton and Lawrence Hill Neighbourhood Management, added: "By handing over the freehold of Wellspring to its board we are keeping true to our own principles of supporting the local management of services and ensuring decisions around important local services are made as close to the community as possible.

"We wish Wellspring every success for the future and look forward to working in partnership with them for many years to come."