Meltham Town Council are pleased to confirm that following lengthy conversations with Kirklees Council, who act as Corporate Trustees for Meltham Recreation Ground Trust, that it intends to take over day-to-day management and Trusteeship of the Broadlands Recreation Ground which is located next to The Complex, off Mean Lane in Meltham and comprises large open green spaces, Meltham Skatepark, a recently refurbished play area and a number of football and rugby pitches.
The land was originally gifted to Meltham’s residents in 1888 by Edward Brook. Mr Brook was a local manufacturer and philanthropist, whose other contributions to Meltham include donating funds to build Meltham Town Hall and donating the carillon at Meltham’s St Bartholemew Church. Mr Brook donated around 13 acres of land to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Jubilee in 1887 at Broadlands, and it was formally opened in September 1888.
In 1974, following the Local Government Act, Kirklees Council managed the site and were appointed Corporate Trustees to manage the Trust on behalf of Meltham residents. It is this role that Meltham Town Council intends to take on, from April 2026.
In 2022, Meltham Town Council reopened conversations with relevant stakeholders including The Complex, Meltham AFC Football Club, and others about the prospect of working together to provide a new focus on managing and improving the site. We are pleased that we’re now at a stage where Meltham Town Council can confirm that these plans are moving forward in a positive direction.
Whilst the full detail of the plans is being put together as more information is being obtained about the current condition of the site, the principles behind this project are that Meltham Town Council will:
- Act on feedback from Ask Meltham and conversations on a regular basis have indicated that many Meltham residents are keen to see the Recreation Ground return to Meltham Town Council management, as was the case before the Local Government reorganisation in 1974
- provide funding to enhance security of the site and continue to work with other partners such as KMC, West Yorkshire Police, The Complex and others to ensure that residents and users of the Recreation Ground feel safe
- work to create a vision, management framework and strategy for delivering enhancements to the site
- provide a lead in applying for grant funding to deliver enhancements to the football pitches; aiming to improve the overall quality of the pitches, with an objective of increasing participation in sports activities in Meltham
- Review all existing agreements and outstanding work related to boundary walls, DDA and pram access to the site from Poppy Gardens
- Continue to work with residents around the site to ensure their voices are heard and that we work together to improve the area
Conversations with Kirklees Council, who are the existing Corporate Trustees are continuing about a range of issues which many residents have, over the years raised and we’ll provide an update on these when they are resolved, but we can confirm that positive conversations and feedback is being received in response to many of the known issues.
The Town Council aims to take over the management of the site from 1st of April 2026.
