"We've got 12 months and we will make something good come out of this" - Calderdale Council's Jenny Lynn on the future of The Shay

Football has been played at the ground for more than one hundred years, while the town's rugby league club have called it home for just over 25 years.

But the stadium, and the future of both clubs there, has been thrown into doubt over the council's plans.

The Courier's FC Halifax Town reporter Tom Scargill spoke to Jenny Lynn, cabinet member for public services and communities, about what the future holds for The Shay.

It's ironic that sport in Halifax is experiencing such turbulence and turmoil only months after the town's football and rugby league clubs achieved historic wins at Wembley.

2023 was a memorable year for FC Halifax Town and Halifax Panthers. 2024 didn't take long to take a turn for the worse.

The well-trodden grass under the feet of both clubs has been thrown into uncertainty after Calderdale Council announced disposing of The Shay as one of its ideas to make much-needed cost savings.

"The main thing to put across is that we are really committed to maintaining play at the stadium for both clubs," said Jenny Lynn, the cabinet member whose remit has responsibility for the stadium.

"The object of the exercise, the reason we've put this out as one of the options in the budget, is simply because we're having to look at everything in terms of how much it's costing us and can we afford to do it.

"For the last four or five years, that I'm aware of, it's actually been costing us between £150,000 to £250,000 a year in terms of both the revenue costs and the capital investment we've had to make periodically.

"That isn't to say both clubs don't pay rent but it's been a tough time, so at a time when 70 per cent of our funding is going on core children's and adult services we've only got 30 per cent left to do everything else.

"So the reason is not that we want to make a capital receipt on it or we've got an idea that we can sell it and build a supermarket on it or something like that, it's not that at all, that's not the driver and that's not been part and parcel of the calculations.

"The main calculation is that we've got to find a way to bring down the revenue costs on the budget."

Councillor Lynn says it wouldn't have been feasible to simply increase the rent charged to both clubs in order to try and cover the shortfall.

"We didn't think that was fair to either club or reasonable or viable, because we're conscious of the financial challenges the clubs have already,” she said.

"For all sorts of reasons, both clubs have financial challenges paying the existing rent so we really didn't think it would make any difference really."

So that's that. The council say they're no longer able to fund The Shay and the only option left to them is passing it on.

"It's not going to remain under the council's control," said Coun Lynn. "We wish it were different.

"We've been trying to find a way in which we could eliminate the net costs to us over several years now.

"I became cabinet member with responsibility for public services, including sports and leisure, three years ago and all that time, I've always been aware there's been an issue about this big item on the deficit side.

"We've managed to keep going but each time it's got tighter and tighter.

"People might say 'bring out the violins and you're just complaining' but you trim things and you trim things and you trim things and you get to a point where you say 'it's no good, we're going to have to look at that' and we've got to that point now.

"Obviously it's a democratic process, we want to listen to the consultation and then the budget will be voted on.

"But I want to see The Shay being taken forward as a sporting venue to benefit both clubs."

As for any notion that the stadium should be seen as a special case due to its community value and being the home of Wembley-winning football and rugby in the town, councillor Lynn says there are simply too many demands on the council's meagre resources.

"I understand there's already a move afoot to register it as an asset of community value, which means that if it is registered, which I'm sure it will be, then that says to whoever is selling that asset has to wait six months to give the community representatives time to come forward with a proposal which would maintain it for use in the community," she said.

"We're not averse to that at all because we are anticipating this process of working out the future of The Shay will take time and we've got a year to do it in.

"I wish it could be a special case but unfortunately the position we find ourselves in is that we're having to look at all sorts of things.

"I'm taking £50,000 a year out of the fund we use to buy books for the libraries. We'll still spend £2,000 a week on books but at the moment we spend £3,000 a week.

"There's a range of things like that where most families would say they're just as important.

"But if this is the impetus for the clubs and the supporters to come together and say 'come on, we can run this together' then I think that's all to the good.

"And sometimes councils find it difficult to access certain types of funding from charities or foundations which not-for-profit or community interest companies can have easier access to.

"So if we can find a way to make this work with both of the clubs, and we'll be there in the background doing our best to help them, then I think it could actually suggest a brighter future for The Shay.

"If we could find a good, strong basis for the organisation that would run it, then I think there's lots of opportunities, in both sports, for expansion.

"Children's sports clubs, the growth of women's football, the opportunity to see if there are clubs within the range of The Shay that might be willing to pay to use it as a practice ground - I think there's a lot to go at.

"I'm really sorry we aren't in a position as a council to be able to pursue some of that, but unfortunately that will require investment in time, energy and money and we just don't have that."

So the wheels are in motion for a handover, but the council insists that retaining The Shay as home to both clubs is the priority.

"Our assistant director, Sarah Richardson, has had ongoing discussions with both clubs over a number of years about the financial situation and how difficult it was for the council to maintain its support," said Coun Lynn.

"Discussions are ongoing, our director, Ian Day, and Sarah had some very productive discussions with both clubs over the last couple of weeks and they've been extremely understanding of the situation.

"We haven't planned another meeting with them until after the budget consultation's finished because at the moment it's a proposal.

"Whether or not it's included in that will depend partly on the consultation and partly on what we get back from other things.

"But as soon as the budget is concluded there is an agreement that our director of public services will be meeting with both clubs.

"They've been really positive and really understanding because they've got their own financial challenges and understand we've got ours as well.

"I hope they've got the message, and I think they have, that we really want play to continue.

"So this is not about wanting to dispose of it to the highest bidder, we've valued it and we know we can get x million pounds, that's what we'll do and then somebody will build houses or a supermarket on it, that is not the objective.

"The objective is to save the ongoing revenue costs, and to some extent the capital costs, that we're having to pay for maintenance and improvement to the ground.

"Our preferred option, obviously in discussion with the clubs, would be for some way to be found for the clubs, either individually with one taking it and the other renting, or together forming a new organisation, because it's an asset value of community interest.

"We believe that can be done so we will work with them very supportively as best we can.

"We've had on-off discussions with the clubs and sometimes one or the other has come forward with a proposal for investment or taking it over in the last few years, but for various reasons those proposals haven't come to fruition.

"So where we've got to now, it's the steady reduction in income from central government that has forced us to look at things that ten years ago, we wouldn't have looked at.

"There's no rush about this, we will continue to run and manage The Shay for the next 12 months but what we're saying is, 12 months from now, we're hoping that by then we'll have got to a position with both clubs where we can see a positive way forward whereby it can be passed over to some form of community or joint ownership.

"And we'll continue to support it as best we can."

As for any early indications of what happens next, Coun Lynn says it's too early to say.

"I don't want to speak for the clubs because they've just been digesting this is where we've got to, but because we've had discussions with them two or three times a year periodically, what we're saying has not come as a big surprise to them," she said.

"I feel encouraged, and certainly the reports I've had from the discussions Ian Day had with them, that both clubs are committed to trying to work with us to find a solution.

"What that solution might be - we also want to take some time to learn about what's happened in other parts of the country with other clubs, what structures might work well.

"There's lots of different options. In some cases you've had community share offers, fans have been able to buy shares in an organisation.

"We're not experts in that but whatever the two clubs want to do, we'll be as supportive as we possibly can."

Some will argue the council should have done more over the years in maintaining and improving The Shay, and making it more of a week-round venue rather than a matchday one.

"I don't think it is just a matchday thing, there have been instances with school sports when it has been brought into use," said Coun Lynn.

"I wouldn't say we've done everything perfectly, but within the limits of the capacity we've got - we've got a very small staff there but they're fantastic - we've tried.

"Some of the issues around the maintenance and standards at the ground and the challenge the groundsman has, are to do with the dual use.

"If it was one club or the other using it exclusively, it would be a very different story.

"Some of what we've had to do in terms of relaying the pitch etc, new lights, it's partly because of that dual use.

"I want to see this as a positive development and see if, over the next 12 months, we can come up with a way in which both clubs can take charge of their own future at The Shay.

"And we will back them as much as we can."

Councillor Lynn said she isn't aware of the council having had The Shay valued.

When asked whether the council would make the stadium available at a reduced price if both clubs said they wanted to buy it, she replied: "I think that's early days really. As I said, we're not coming at this from the point of view of what we can sell it for as a capital asset.

"We would want to make sure that, whoever took it on, there's an understanding they've got two sitting tenants.

"It's a bit like if you're a landlord and you sell your house but you've got somebody living in it, you've got to say 'you can buy this house off me but it's got a sitting tenant'.

"The Shay has two sitting tenants, so the understanding is that, wherever it goes, a way has to be found for that to continue.

"But our first aspiration would be to ensure that the future of The Shay is in the hands of some kind of community based organisation that has the interests of both clubs at heart.

"It might be a partnership, it might be some other kind of organisation, but that's very much what we want to do, so there's no way we'd be saying 'we need £3m or £5m or whatever it is'.

"This is not about getting a capital receipt, I can't stress that enough, this is about us being forced into looking at what our annual budget is.

"If we're having to reduce the hours at the tip, reduce the amount we spend on books, reduce youth services, then unfortunately we've also had to look at the support we give to the two clubs in terms of the running of The Shay."

Fears will remain among supporters though that their beloved home could end up in the wrong hands.

Memories of businessman Tony Abbott's bid to buy The Shay a decade ago still haunt Town fans.

"I can't really pre-empt those discussions," said Coun Lynn on what safeguards would be put in place to ensure that the two clubs could continued to play there if it were sold to a third party. "We're committed to making sure that rugby league and football continues to be played at The Shay.

"Our primary aspiration and objective is to find a way for that to be done by the two clubs in conjunction with whatever organisation they want to establish to make that happen.

"If we were in a situation where there was no way we could do anything other than dispose of it, then it would certainly have to be disposed of in such a way that there is an understanding it's got two sitting tenants and the future of both clubs would be safeguarded.

"There is no way in which we would want to dispose of The Shay that didn't safeguard that.

"I'm not a lawyer so I can't tell you what safeguards can be put in place, but what I can say is that the leader and the cabinet are committed to making sure we safeguard its future as a premier sporting venue.

"We wish we weren't here but I'm determined to have a positive spin on it and say we will work with both clubs and the indications we've got is they want to work with us.

"We've got 12 months and we will make something good come out of this."

Are there any third parties the council would veto from buying The Shay, such as a supermarket or housing developer?

"If the council were in the business of disposing of any asset, we would undertake due diligence to make sure the purchaser could pay the money and had the wherewithal to pay what they said they were going to pay, and had the capacity, the ability and the good name to be prepared to abide by any requirements that might be placed upon them," said Coun Lynn.

"Let's face it, it has had a chequered history and there are people who've come forward and made grand promises and they were going to do this and that, people who promise sponsorship and then are in administration.

"Obviously that's a risk and we would be aware of that."

Some fans will be unconvinced that Town and the Panthers could find enough common ground, despite sharing one, to execute some form of joint ownership, while the prospect of one club owning the stadium and the other being their tenant would be hard to stomach for many.

"I'm aware that both clubs have been round the houses, they've been round this particular circuit before and I'm aware there's a lot of history there," said Coun Lynn.

"But from our perspective, we're really positive about the response we've had from both clubs, both of them want to find a solution and they understand that, unfortunately, the council running it has reached the end of the road, we just can't do it anymore.

"I think necessity is the mother of invention and I think both clubs realise they've got to consider each other and what's best for their club and their fans.

"I think we can work this out. They're more than capable, there's some very talented people running both clubs, but if we're asked to we'll do our best to facilitate any discussions.

"I don't know what will come out of it, that's for the directors of both clubs to determine and how they see the future of their organisations.

"They've been creative in the past, some things have worked and some haven't, but we're determined to see if we can make this work."

The council's proposals - to transfer a long leasehold interest of the stadium to one of the two clubs with the other subletting, or to a company jointly owned and run by the two clubs or disposing of the stadium on the open market, with the two clubs as sitting tenants - are now the subject of a public consultation.

And councillor Lynn is adamant the views of the fans will be heard.

"We've actively encouraged people to have their say," she said.

"There's a lot of people for whom FC Halifax Town and Halifax Panthers are important, even if they're not going through the turnstiles every week.

"We realise it's important to the town so, yes, they will be listened to.

"But the tough thing is we're in a position now where we've got to look at everything we're not statutorily obliged to do.

"I don't feel negative about it though, I actually think if we can put in place some really strong arrangements for it to be managed, run and developed for the future as an asset of community value in some shape or form with both clubs contributing to that and both clubs having a say in that, I think in a couple of years time, we might be looking back on that and saying 'actually, they did us a favour, we can do this'.

"That's my hope for it."

When asked what message she would send to Town and Panthers fans who are concerned about the future of The Shay, Coun Lynn said: "I think The Shay has a good future for both clubs and we're absolutely determined to get there in terms of facilitating a new future.

"We'll do our level best to make that happen."

There will be an opportunity for residents and businesses to ask questions about the Cabinet’s proposals during an online live Q&A session at 7pm on Thursday 1 February 2024 at https://youtube.com/live/FZHbOjMsXDo?feature=share.

People can have their say by completing the online survey at https://new.calderdale.gov.uk/council/budgets-and-spending/cabinets-budget-proposals.

Alternatively, for those unable to access the web form, feedback can also be returned by downloading the form available at https://new.calderdale.gov.uk/council/budgets-and-spending/cabinets-budget-proposals and this can be emailed to [email protected] or posted to arrive by Wednesday 7 February 2024 to BUDGET CONSULTATION, TOWN HALL, HALIFAX, HX1 1UJ.

The Cabinet budget proposals are available to view online at https://new.calderdale.gov.uk/council/budgets-and-spending/cabinets-budget-proposals.

The proposals will be finalised by the cabinet on Monday 12 February 2024 and the budget will be agreed at the annual budget council meeting on Monday 26 February 2024.