The prospect of keeping the Lower Spen Valley waste transfer building as a community resource after its closure is to be investigated.

The site, off the main Huddersfield Road in Ravens-thorpe, will form part of the Lower Spen Country Park when it stops being used for waste transfer next July. The country park is in its early stages of development.

The future of the building was discussed at a recent meeting of the Lower Spen Valley Liaison Group, made up of local people, representatives of interested groups and councillors.

Coun Martyn Bolt, Kirklees Council's Environment and Transportation Management Board chairman, said the building, which has temporary planning permission, was more than half the size of a football pitch and could be used as a sports hall or a base for outdoor activities.

A small group, headed by Coun Mohammed Razaq (Lab, Dewsbury West), will look at the issue in more detail and report back to the liaison group's next meeting.

He said: "To lose this building without first considering whether it could perform a useful role as a local facility would be a shame.''