Ingleborough Hall: Race on to save Yorkshire Dales activity centre enjoyed by generations from closure

Bradford Council announced swingeing cuts last month in a bid to stave off bankruptcy, including closing three tips, cutting libraries and leisure centres and hiking fees and council tax.

Council owned Inglebrough Hall, a Grade 2 listed building, which hosts trips from over 80 schools a year, offering activities such as caving and abseiling, also faces the axe.

The under-pressure council is asking the government if it can borrow a total of £80m this financial year, as well as £140m for 2024/25, to plug a growing black hole in its budget. While all councils are under severe financial strain due to increased demand and reduced income, in Bradford, the primary contributing factor has been children’s social care.

Former Leeds headteacher Julia Britton, who has been taking children on residential trips to Ingleborough Hall for over 20 years, has set up a petition urging the council to reconsider, which has almost 2,000 signatures so far. Children come from Bradford schools, like Co-op Academy Parkland, but also further afield including Fife and Cambridgeshire.

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She said: “Over 80 schools and over 4000 thousand children each year are going to miss out on a wonderfully unique experience if Ingleborough Hall were to close. Many generations remember their visit very fondly and have stories to tell.

"This Grade 2 listed mansion house has a real feeling of grandeur but also of safety given that the 80 acres are nestled away at the far end of the beautiful village of Clapham.

"The benefits of outdoor education at Ingleborough Hall with the positives to resilience, engagement, physical and mental health and wellbeing as well as social skills in young people, far outweigh the savings that the council will make."

The council intends relocating services to Buckden House, another outdoor activity centre over 25 miles away. But it only has half the beds and currently self catering only facilities.

Unison is backing the campaign.

Regional organiser Michael Parkinson said it was a “once-in-a-generation” decision for councillors.

He said: “The council must look at other options and avoid the closure of the site. The council should take its time and consider every alternative before making a final decision.”

Council leader Susan Hinchliffe said she sympathised with the comments made by campaigners.

She said: “No council wants to have to make cuts like this but when 87 per cent of the council’s projected spend this year is to be spent on social care for vulnerable children and adults, you can see we don’t have a lot left for other services.” The petition can be found on Bradford Council's website. Online public consultation closes on February 17.