A SOCIAL club for older people is set to reopen after a legal wrangle forced a three-month closure.

Club 50 Plus, which provides day-time activities for about 200 people aged over 50, hopes to reopen in new premises above Toys and Tuck, in Queens Road, Southend, within a fortnight.

The club, which was first forced out of Queensway House, then Margaret Thatcher House, both in Southend, was due to reopen in the new property in August, but a legal wrangle between the council and the new landlord delayed the move.

Chairman Jim Newton, 69, of Whittingham Avenue, Southend, said: “There have been various legal wrangles all the way down the line.

“We intend to lease the building and the council is going to guarantee the first three years’ rent for us, but the landlord can’t seem to get the right wording on the lease.

“The council keeps rejecting the words he is using.

“I have no doubt we will be going ahead in the near future.

"Apparently they are near agreement.”

The club, formerly known as Club 60, provides activities including keep fit, snooker, dancing, tai chi and table tennis.

It is entirely run by volunteers.

It was temporarily housed in Margaret Thatcher House, in Victoria Avenue, Southend, after the council demolished its previous base, Queensway House, Essex Street, in April 2013.

A council plan to demolish Margaret Thatcher House, now shelved, forced the group out again in August.

The club, which is open from 9am until 3.30pm five days a week, expected to move straight into the new base, but the disagreement over the lease has delayed the plan.

Members calling for information have been greeted by an answerphone message saying they would be updated by November 10 – ten days ago.

A planning application to turn 1B Queen’s Road into a new base for the group was approved earlier this year.

Mr Newton said: “Everyone wants it to go ahead, but he has to get the right wording on the lease.

“The last one was sent back with a problem, but I believe that has been resolved and it is being re-printed.

“Hopefully, within the next two weeks, it will be resolved.”

Ian Gilbert, Southend councillor responsible for community development, said: “We very much hope the club will be in their within weeks.

“Theywill be able to move in as soon as all the legal documentation is agreed by solicitors for all the three parties involved, landlord, the council and Club 50 Plus.

“It is essential to make sure that any legal matters are properly resolved to the satisfaction of all.”

The club’s phone number is 01702 613562.