The headline in the Todmorden News was ‘RIVERSIDE CENTRE PROJECT AXED’, it was quite apt really as it has felt like a “hatchet job” ongoing for some time.

Following the press release on the Calderdale Council’s website and receiving formal letters from them, we were told that there is no appeals process. So, after careful analysis of correspondence and documents leading up to the Town Deal board withdrawing support for our Riverside project, we are taking specialist legal advice on the legitimacy of the process leading to the decision, whilst we will also contest the validity of the reasons given.

There are a series of contestable events and statements leading up to the decision to withdraw support for our project, which gave Calderdale the excuse to enact a contractual break with us. There appears to us to have been a level of predetermination to find a way to pull the project despite its clear viability, assessed independently. We also suspect that there are personal and organisational motives behind this decision.

We can’t say too much more here about our case evidence for legal reasons, but people should rest assured that after four years of dedicated voluntary work on behalf of the wider community, we will not let Calderdale take away this hard won opportunity for a refurbished and viable social, recreational and sports facility without contest.

We want to thank all our stakeholders for their messages of support and understanding that we have yet a further delay in providing them with the facilities sitting on the design boards. The suggestion that our project was mainly based on boosting the visitor economy is a falsehood, and we believe it was wrong to emphasise this as a reason for withdrawing support. Please bear with us during this challenging time whilst we contest this poor decision.

You can read our own press release here which addresses some of the statements made by the Council and Town Deal Board.

In the meantime, we are working hard to meet our commitments to the user stakeholders for 2025, and we will reassess our ability to provide facilities following the outcome of any legal processes we may take, and some alternative funding opportunities we are considering.

We have some amazing partnerships and brilliant events to look forward to on the site in the next couple of months:

Todmorden Agricultural Society Show – Sunday 15th June – 10 am – 4 pm

Todmorden Boundary Walk – Saturday 5th July

PAWS Fun Day & Dog Show – Saturday 12th July – 11 am – 5 pm

We are sure readers will wonder why the funders can’t see the fantastic community and social value to all we are bringing via this site already.