A former tenant of the Keighley Town Council-run civic centre says he is taking legal action against the local authority.

Gavin Farrar, of the social enterprise Confianza, said he was suing the town council for compensation.

He claims before his organisation moved into the North Street property, it was promised 27 functions a year, which would enable it to sustain its catering operations in the building.

“We’re a not-for-profit organisation and we’d taken out a social enterprise loan, which we’d expected we could recoup,” he explained.

However, he said Confianza was instead forced to move out of the building last year with losses of £17,500 after the promised social functions failed to materialise.

A spokesman for the town council said it would not be commenting on Mr Farrar’s allegations. She pointed out the council’s office had not yet received any notification of legal action by Confianza.

The social enterprise had previously run the civic centre’s ground-floor cafe, as well as its bar and restaurant on the first floor. Confianza had also been using the premises to offer training courses for unemployed people.

Mr Farrar said the organisation was present in the building for about 12 months, but had to pull out in July of last year. He said he first initiated legal action against the town council last month.

When Confianza’s withdrawal from the civic centre was first reported in the Keighley News, Keighley’s town clerk, Miggy Bailey, responded that the council had been unable to reach a satisfactory agreement with Mr Farrar. “The relationship between tenant and council has broken down,” she added.

According to its own website, the civic centre continues to offer a cafe, which opens from 10am to 4pm from Tuesday to Saturday. The centre also caters for events such as weddings, anniversaries, birthdays or company dinners.