Shay Stadium: Councillors clash over future of Halifax stadium which is home to FC Halifax Town and Halifax Panthers

Calderdale Council members have approved a budget which commits to removing the authority from running the ground – where FC Halifax Town and Halifax Panthers play – saving £161,000 a year.

The council’s preferred option is for the two clubs to take on the responsibility, said Coun Jenny Lynn, cabinet member for Public Services and Communities.

But she said she wanted to make it clear the ground was not being sold.

“This is not about making a quick buck to sell the Shay,” she explained.

“This is about us having discussions with both clubs who use the Shay with a view to seeing what can be arrived at for them to take responsibility for their own future in order to alleviate revenue cuts to this council.”

The Shay had not had a value put on it as a sale was not the purpose, said Coun Lynn.

Conservative group budget proposals, which were rejected by a majority of councillors who supported Labour’s Cabinet-recommended budget, would have kept the council’s role in operating the Shay.

Coun Felicity Issott (Con, Ryburn), who said she came from a family of Shaymen, was sceptical it would not be sold.

“The title ‘disposal of Shay’ – which is what this budget item is named – might be part of the problem because it sure sounds like trying to sell off the Shay,” she said.

A recent meeting between fans and a cabinet member did not give the impression the council had faith in its sports club, with the member saying people only asked him about The Piece Hall, never the Shay, said Coun Issott.

But the Piece Hall, now considered a rejuvenated asset, had only been saved by one vote in the past.

“Well, tonight it doesn’t look like the Shay is going to be saved by only one vote – it certainly looks like the Shay is going to be sold off,” she said.

Coun Issott said disposal appeared to be an “easy and short-sighted option”, and one she could not back.

“I cannot support a budget which sells off an asset that has a positive impact on so many lives in Calderdale,” she said.