New bid for The Shay after heartbreak for Halifax in play-offs
Plus, new Mayor takes chains in Calderdale
Hello and welcome to The Calderdale Lead!
The sun continues to shine across the borough and I have to say, it’s brilliant to see so many Calderdale folk enjoying the outdoor beauty our towns offer.
Sadly, there’s not going to be a day in the Wembley sunshine for Halifax Town after they were knocked out of the National League play-offs this week.
But there may be some positive news for The Shaymen with news that there’s a new bid for The Shay. We’ve got details below.
Plus, our LDRS colleague John Greenwood has a chat with the new Mayor of Calderdale Steven Leigh.
So, on with the news…
Davy bid for The Shay on hold as new group comes forward with bid
The future of The Shay Stadium is seemingly in the balance again after a not-for-profit group came forward with a late bid to run it.
The Shay Community Stadium Ltd - which was only registered as a company 10 days ago - has
In March, senior Calderdale councillors agreed the freehold and surrounding land of the Shay Stadium, Halifax, should be sold to Huddersfield Giants rugby league club owner Ken Davy in order to divest itself of the ground, a budget decision agreed by the cash-strapped council last year.
It is home to football’s FC Halifax Town and rugby league’s Halifax Panthers.
Mr Davy wants to develop the ground and place his rugby league Super League club Huddersfield Giants to play at The Shay while a new ground is built in Kirklees for that side.
But as the stadium had been designated an asset of community value, a period of time had to be allowed for other bids to be lodged in light of that.
The Shay Community Stadium Ltd - which according to Companies House owned by Shaun Metcalfe - has now lodged that bid.
The group says it now has until October 3 to develop a detailed plan and secure the funding which will be needed to make this vision a reality.
Mr Metcalfe said: “We believe The Shay is the beating heart of Halifax, a place where our community comes together to celebrate, to support, and to belong.
“The prospect of The Shay being lost to private ownership should not be a consideration, so we want to explore other options, working hand in hand with the council, supporters, residents, and local groups to ensure The Shay continues to be a source of pride and unity for Calderdale.
“Whilst we are under no illusions about the complex and challenging task ahead, it is an exciting opportunity to shape the future of the stadium, ensure wider-community use and safeguard it as a home for our clubs.”
Not much is known about the new group at this stage. Companies House lists Mr Metcalfe as the sole director although Paul Furness - whose address is listed in Keighley - is named as a person with significant control, with ownership of voting rights - more than 25% but not more than 50%.
The group isppealing to individuals from the local community who feel they have the skills and experience to support the bid to get in touch.
Initially people are asked to contact the group by email – info@theshaycommunitystadium.com – to do this.
The news comes after The Shaymen suffered National League play-off heartbreak this week at Oldham Athletic.
Chris Millington’s side were soundly beaten by the Latics 4-0 at Boundary Park in the eliminator stage of the play-offs.
The damage was done in the opening exchanges with Town finding themselves 3-0 down inside the first 10 minutes.
After the game, Millington refused to be drawn on his future.
He said: “The cycle at this club, because of the way we have to recruit and develop a squad to be successful, you have to have a long-term plan and there's going to be an awful lot of turnover of players this summer, even more than the last couple of summers.
“So I need to speak to the chairman and decide between us whether or not I'm the right person to do that, and at the moment, I don't know.”
New Mayor takes office in Calderdale as excitign year awaits…
By LDRS’ John Greenwood
Calderdale’s new civic head took on the chain of office at a Mayor-making ceremony at Halifax Town Hall.
Councillors unanimously elected councillor Steven Leigh to the role at Calderdale Council’s annual meeting, where he took over from retiring Mayor Coun Ann Kingstone.
Coun Leigh has led the Conservative group on Calderdale Council for five years but will put party politics aside as he prepares to represent the borough with his wife Linda as his Mayoress.
Growing up in a corporation flat above his parents’ greengrocery, one of five siblings, in Wythenshawe, south Manchester, a very successful business career saw he and his wife move to Calderdale and fall in love with the borough.
“I reflect how lucky we were to come and live here in this caring, compassionate, beautiful place – to live, work and raise a family.
“Calderdale is a genuinely wonderful place,” he said.
A Chorlton Grammar School pupil, Coun Leigh’s first work, along with his brothers and sisters, was in the shop – “a wonderful experience” – while he was “sports mad” keenly participating as a sprinter, a striker at football and a fast bowler at cricket.
A “rare aptitude” for programming computers – if you had that aptitude it did not mean you were clever and if you did not it did not mean you were not clever, he said, but it was there – led to a successful career, working for a major manufacturer in Greater Manchester and soon being promoted to team manager.
Various roles culminated in being managing director and then he led on the flotation of a company on the London Stock Exchange and led the company buy-out that brought him to West Yorkshire and settling in Calderdale.
The business had success globally, including setting up offices in Brazil and Singapore, and setting up one of the first joint ventures in China, said Coun Leigh, the company receiving the Queen’s Award for Exports.
His business experience led him to become head of policy for the Chamber of Commerce, of which he later became a director, and he was awarded the MBE for services to small businesses – with the help of the people behind him.
Coun Leigh has chosen his Mayoral charities for the year – these are the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, which relies on public donations, and Calderdale’s Overgate Hospice.
And of Overgate’s need to raise finances, he said: “It’s a miracle how it carries on running, but every year the miracle happens – we want to help them achieve miracles on an annual basis,” he said.
Coun Leigh thanked the Ryburn ward voters had given him the opportunity to serve and said retiring Mayor Coun Kingstone had set a high bar to follow.
“Our objective is to serve Calderdale and all its residents to the best of our ability and pass on tour our successors a Mayorality that has been in safe hands, untarnished and respected,” he said.
Coun Leigh spiced his acceptance speech with humour and colleagues said the public would enjoy meeting the new civic heads.
Nominating Coun Leigh for the role, his deputy group leader Coun Howard Blagbrough urged Coun and Mrs Leigh to enjoy every moment.
He said: “I know you will be absolutely amazing and represent Calderdale in the best possible way.
“This is about celebrating all the good things about Calderdale and its people.”
Coun Leigh nominated Coun Geraldine Carter as his Deputy Mayor, with her husband Brian as her consort.
A former Mayor herself, Coun Carter has also undertaken the role of Deputy twice before.
Coun Leigh said: “She is somebody that is ultra-reliable, hard-working, dedicated and a wonderful person.”
That’s it for this edition of The Calderdale Lead.
We’ve another Bank Holiday on the horizon so we’ll be back on Wednesday with a guide to what’s on and lots more.
Until then, have a great week!
Andrew