'We're the only ones left' - Halifax couple continue Spring Hall open space fight
Plus, Halifax grab thrilling win at the Shay to kick-start season
Hello and welcome to The Calderdale Lead!
Firstly, apologies for the lack of the midweek edition, I was laid low with some kind of flu-like illness (which feels very weird to say in August!).
In today’s edition, we’ve got the latest on a decade-long battle around the Spring Hall estate, which looks set to have it’s latest instalment tomorrow.
Members of Calderdale Council’s Cabinet are set to agree to hand over two parcels of land at the estate enabling it to be used to extend a special school.
But Reid Anderson and his wife Julia are determined not to allow the hand-over without a fight. Full details are below.
Plus, we’ve got details of a thrilling win for Halifax Town at the Shay.
So, on with the news…
Couple urge town hall chiefs to ‘do the right thing’ in fight over Spring Hall estate land
By Andrew Greaves
A couple from Halifax have written to Calderdale’s council leader in the latest stage of their decade-long battle over land at the Spring Hall estate.
Reid Anderson and his wife Julia have long argued that Calderdale Council’s decision to allow use of the land - which was ‘gifted’ to the people of Halifax for recreational purposes in the 1940s - by Ravenscliffe High School has been made without proper public consultation.
Ravenscliffe High School is Calderdale’s only secondary specialist school, providing support for young people aged 11-19 with a wide range of special education needs. The school is split over two sites, one at Skircoat and the other at Spring Hall, Halifax.
On Monday, the authority’s Cabinet will asked to agree to the internal transfer of the land from one Council department to another. The land would remain in Council ownership but would become part of the Children and Young People’s Service directorate.
They are asked to agree to permanently appropriate land for the proposed extension to the north of the existing school building, and temporarily appropriate a site for a temporary building to provide extra space for pupils while a new extension is built.
After the new extension is built, a recommendation would be made to Cabinet to return that land back to open space, councillors are briefed.
Ravenscliffe has planning permissions for the changes, but the proposals are not without objection, centred around the loss of open space.
A single objection - from the Reids - was received by the council last December.
This related to a 1948 Deed of Gift by which the former Borough of Halifax acquired the land.
This Deed imposed restrictive covenants including “that the gardens, playing fields and grounds could not be used for any purpose other than for the recreation of the inhabitants of Halifax and for the playing of sports and games.”
But, councillors are advised, this Deed has been varied and amended a number of times since to widen the scope of potential use of the site.
Essentially, the most recent 2017 Deed, which the relevant property management company agreed to, permits land there to be used for educational purposes which are not for profit, officers say in the briefing papers.
This applies to both the intended permanent building and temporary portable buildings, Cabinet members are told.
But in a letter to Coun Jane Scullion, the leader of Calderdale Council, the Reids say: “All we want to do is make the point that the Spring Hall Estate was given to the inhabitants of Halifax as public open space. It therefore has statutory protection under the Local Government Act.
“These are public rights that can only be taken away if a formal statutory process is followed. It is entirely irrelevant what the previous land owner (Patons and Baldwins Limited) subsequently thinks should happen to the land.
“When the company gifted the Estate in 1948, from that date, the only parties with any legal interest in the land are the Council (as successor to the Halifax Corporation) as trustee and the inhabitants of Halifax (the public) as beneficiaries under the trust who were afforded the right to use the land for general recreational purposes and for the playing of sports and games.
“From the date of the Deed of Gift in 1948, the land became and remains public open space.
“The key word is public. When Patons gave away the land it ceased to be private and became public and Patons and Baldwins no longer held any legal interest (including private rights) in the land. Consequently, there was no legal interest (including private rights) to pass from Patons and Baldwins to any successor company, this includes Coats Property Management. Therefore, the various deeds of release and variation are meaningless and of no relevance and would almost certainly be declared null and void by in a court of law.
“The Council should be protecting the public rights associated with the Estate, not surrendering them because there is a problem with accommodating the demand for school places and because Spring Hall is / was very convenient for Ravenscliffe.”
Calderdale currently has a shortfall in provision for pupils with special needs and is increasingly required to allocate specialist places in the private sector, or outside of Calderdale, meaning children are sometimes going to school further from where they live.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services, Cllr Adam Wilkinson, said: “Like many councils across the country, we continue to see increased demand for specialist school places in Calderdale. We’re working hard to meet this demand and increase the number of SEND places in the borough, including new provision as well as the expansion of existing providers.
“We want all children in Calderdale to achieve their best and we understand the importance of providing more high-quality provision, closer to home. The transfer of land between council directorates is a necessary step to allow expansion plans at Ravenscliffe to progress.”
The report will be considered at the meeting of Calderdale Council’s Cabinet on tomorrow from 4pm.
Additional reporting by John Greenwood.
Shaymen fight back in style to impress boss Lakeland
By Andrew Greaves
Halifax Town finally gave their fans something to cheer about at the Shay with thrilling 3-2 comeback win over Yeovil Town yesterday.
Owen Bray’s first-half strike gave Halifax the lead in first half stoppage time, but Junior Morias and Zac Greenslade flipped the game for the visitors after the break.
Undaunted, Bray equalised with his second on 65 minutes, before sub Will Harris clinched a dramatic win with 11 minutes to play.
Town boss Adam Lakeland applauded his side’s efforts to entertain fans post-match,.
He said: "We want to entertain people here, and we want the fans to go away having enjoyed watching the team play, and have a go, and we want them to be looking forward to coming back the next time. I hope we've achieved that today.
"There were times we were poor in the game, there were times we were really good in the game. But we've shown courage, character and balls as a team.
"(I’m) delighted to get our first home win. I'd argue we maybe played better last Saturday and lost.
"Halifax scoring three at The Shay is probably something that's not been that frequent in recent years. And we've done that against a decent Yeovil team.
"I know they've sacked their manager but they were in the Championship not long ago, they're a massive club and they've got a good squad.”
The win has lifted the Shaymen to 13th in the National League table. They’re back at the Shay on Wednesday night when they take on strugglers Woking.
That’s it for this edition.
I hope you continue to have a great weekend, whatever you’re upto!
Don’t forget if you’ve got a story tip or an event you want us to cover, drop me a line at calderdale@thelead.uk.
Until Wednesday, thanks for reading!
Andrew