What future may hold for The Shay Stadium
Plus, the latest on Todmorden-Hebden Bridge road closure saga
Hello and welcome to the weekend edition of The Calderdale Lead.
Apologies that this is landing in your inbox a little later - this week has been a bit of a struggle due to a chest infection.
We will, however, be shifting the weekend edition of The Calderdale Lead to a Sunday going forward, fitting in with our colleagues in Lancashire, Blackpool, Teesside and our newly launched Southport title!
In this edition, we look at two proposals that are on the table for the future of The Shay sports stadium and have the latest on the long-running disruption on the route between Todmorden and Hebden Bridge (spoiler alert - it’s not getting any better any time soon!).
The Shay is a topic that we’re going to be visiting quite a bit over the next couple of months so today’s story is aimed at setting up the coverage.
A couple of people have already contacted us about the saga of The Shay - which is a ground I visited many times in the 1990s as a Burnley fan! - but if you want to get in touch with your thoughts then you can do so by emailing calderdale@thelead.uk.
So, on with today’s stories…
The Shay: Town hall chiefs to decide on future in March
Council bosses are to use a Cabinet meeting in March to finally decide the future of Halifax’s The Shay stadium.
Calderdale Council are weighing up two proposals for the future of the stadium - home of FC Halifax Town football team and Halifax Panthers rugby league side - after deciding in February last year that they would stop running the ground from April this year.
The decision to pull out of running the stadium will save £161,000 per year, and remove the additional annual cost of up to £500,000 to meet the stadium’s health and safety needs.
Now town hall chiefs are considering two ‘bids’ to take over the ground - one from Huddersfield Giants owner Ken Davy and the other from a group of FC Halifax Town supporters who have submitted an initial business plan to the council.
Mr Davy is keen to purchase the ground so that the Giants can play there temporarily from 2026, while a new stadium is built for them in Huddersfield.
According to the council, if approved, Mr Davy’s proposal would see major investment in upgrading the Shay to Super League standard and would ensure it could continue to be used by FC Halifax Town and Halifax Panthers in the long term.
Upgrades would include a new hybrid pitch with improved surface and drainage quality, which would be more resilient to the weather and would increase reliability for games.
The installation of the new pitch would be supported by the Premier League and external grants.
Mr Davy said: “I am excited by the opportunity to work with FC Halifax Town, Halifax Panthers and Calderdale Council, on the potential upgrading of the Shay to make it into an outstanding Community Stadium facility for the benefit of all.
“I believe that bringing it up to Super League standard would dramatically improve the match day experience for spectators and encourage more fans to support both FC Halifax and the Panthers.
“From the Giants’ perspective, whilst the upgrading of the Shay would be costly, it could be the ideal interim solution for us whilst we progress plans for a new stadium in Huddersfield.”
Further upgrades, funded by Mr Davy, would include essential health and safety works, improved toilets, new modern, energy-efficient LED lighting to replace the floodlights, a new electronic scoreboard and electronic digital perimeter advertising.
If Mr Davy’s proposals went ahead, the new hybrid pitch at the Shay would be constructed from summer 2025, and the potential impact of this on Halifax matches is being discussed with the clubs.
Meanwhile, because the Shay Stadium has been registered as an Asset of Community Value, giving community interest groups the chance to express interest in buying the site.
The FC Halifax Town supporters’ group’s initial proposal to run the stadium would require an ongoing financial commitment from the Council, so the Council has asked for more detailed information from the group at this stage.
Bosses at both FC Halifax Town and Halifax Panthers have welcomed the news of potential investment in the ground, which first opened in 1921.
David Bosomworth, Chairman of FC Halifax Town, said: “Investment during these difficult financial times is hopefully a good news story for the Council, the two Halifax Clubs and the community as a whole.”
Damian Clayton, chief executive of Halifax Panthers, added: “We believe the Shay has the potential to evolve into a vibrant community hub, securing the longevity of professional sport played here while promoting diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing.
“Alongside these discussions, we are diligently working to fully substantiate the details within our own Business Plan, ensuring we have a robust contingency in place should further consideration be required. We are confident that through collective effort, a sustainable and mutually beneficial outcome can be achieved for the benefit of all.”
Detailed discussions between the Council, the clubs and the prospective buyers will be ongoing until the Cabinet meeting in March.
Todmorden-Hebden Bridge route to be closed for another two weeks
Additional reporting by the LDRS’ John Greenwood
Complications and the recent extreme weather means that the main route between Todmorden and Hebden Bridge will not be open for AT LEAST another two weeks.
In a joint statement, Calderdale Council and Yorkshire Water say “further complications” and recent extreme weather mean the A646 Halifax Road at Charlestown, Hebden Bridge, will not re-open – at least to one lane of traffic as hoped – until at least January 27.
On Friday, December 13, the road was closed to through traffic from that evening after a sewer collapsed and concerns about road users’ safety.
It had been hoped one lane could re-open using two-way traffic lights on Monday, January 13, but this has been dashed.
Previously, it had been hoped it could re-open by Christmas Eve, 2024.
The sewer is Yorkshire Water’s, the culvert Calderdale Council’s.
The team now plan to remove a section of the culvert to allow improved access to the sewer and lay a new pipe.
This will be followed by backfilling and repairing the culvert before the road can be reinstated.
The culvert will then be relined in the near future, but this will be done under two-way traffic management.
In the joint statement, Calderdale Council and Yorkshire Water said: “It is paramount that we keep residents, the local community and the team working on site, safe as this important repair takes place.
“Our teams are working extended hours, in very difficult weather conditions, with extreme cold and melting snow adding to delays in completing what is a complicated issue.
“We know that this is frustrating and inconvenient for all concerned, we can only apologise and thank local residents and businesses for their understanding as we work as quickly and as safely as we can to get a partial road reopening under two-way managed traffic lights from Monday, January 27.
“Our priorities remain getting the road reopened and maintaining customers’ waste services,” they said.
The statement says overpumping is taking place to remove clean surface water from the culvert to the river.
There is also overpumping and tankering to manage the flows on the sewer, returning waste to the sewer.
The customer liaison team at Yorkshire Water is keeping in close contact with residents and businesses in the affected area to keep them up to date, they said.
A shuttle bus serving people along Halifax Road, Todmorden, linking them to that town’s centre, will remain in place until the road has partially reopened.
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That’s it for this week - enjoy the rest of the weekend and we’ll be back in your inbox on Wednesday!
Andrew