Calderdale community invited to invest in housing to secure future of historic property

Fielden Hall. Photograph by Tessa Kerr – Two Islands Photography

The Fielden Acre community share offer, which launches online on Zoom at 11am on Saturday, October 31, seeks to raise £220,000 which will allow Calder Valley Community Land Trust to buy the houses and land around the historic Fielden Hall, which is next to Centre Vale Park at Ewood Lane, Todmorden.

Additionally, some of the money will be used to pay for upgrading the buildings.

The locally locally based charitable trust, was previously gifted Fielden Hall itself.

Now the houses that bookend the hall have come up for sale and by buying these houses and land, the CLT can ensure that they stay as affordable housing and make sure the whole hall remains as a community resource, stopping possible future private development on the land, it says.

Community share offers are an increasingly popular way to finance community owned purchases, said Simon Brearley, Chair of Calder Valley CLT.

He explained how the investment would work and said the trust believed what it was doing was in line with the original 19th Century Fielden family’s philanthropic intentions as it was founded as a school by Sarah Fielden.

“Pioneering philanthropist and educator Sarah Fielden helped make Todmorden the town it is today when she established a school on the site back in 1871.

“Now, in the 2020s, we have the chance to use community shares investment for a very modern kind of philanthropy.

“People can invest from £250 to £20,000.

“They can get up to a two per cent return on investment whilst at the same time making a contribution to the town’s future,” he said.

The trust has already successfully attracted £50,000 matched funding from the Community Shares Booster Programme.

This will be added to the total raised, when individual investors have invested £150,000.

One of the town’s residents who is supporting the share offer is Happy Valley and Downton Abbey actor Kevin Doyle.

Kevin said: “This share offer will help keep our heritage and ensures affordable places to live.

“That’s why I’m delighted to support this investment in our community.”

Bill Griffiths, Chair of the Fielden Centre Association, which manages the Fielden Hall, said the association wholeheartedly support the Fielden Acre Community Share offer.

“Bringing the houses and land into community ownership will ensure that the houses stay at affordable rents and help secure the future of our beautiful Fielden Hall as a thriving community centre for all the people of Todmorden,” he said.

There are more details about the launch and share offer online at www.caldervalleyclt.org.uk/fieldenacre with links also on social media (Twitter: @CVCLT1, hashtag: #fieldenacre) and by emailing [email protected]