Shelley residents assured village green will be safe

Feb 10 2010 by Kevin Core, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Shelley residents assured village green will be safe

VILLAGERS who feared they could lose their village green are celebrating.

Talks to save the green patch of land off Penistone Road, Shelley, seem to have been successfully concluded.

Kirklees Council’s Cabinet last night agreed to pay £4,450 for the freehold of the green.

Residents thought the land was theirs for ever, after it was designated a village green 15 years ago.

So they were stunned when a for sale sign appeared and it turned out the land was being put up for auction by developers.

Now, however, there is a bright future.

Talks between Kirklees Council and owners Barratt David Wilson Homes about a proposal to allow the council to buy the land ended yesterday with a deal.

The company has confirmed that it wanted to sell the freehold of the site and it was hopeful of a deal being agreed with Kirklees Council.

Local councillor Christine Smith said: “I’m very happy about this. The council now owns the green and it will remain as it has been in the past. It will be a relief to all the people who have been worried about this”.

The news follows a public meeting organised by Shelley Community Association attended by more than 50 concerned villagers.

They were shocked to find it was for sale.

Despite a ceremony marking Shelley Village Green’s special status in 1995, it appears that it was not in fact Kirklees Council’s to give.