A Liverpool city region riding school steps up its fight for survival as its landlord insists it vacates the land and buildings it occupies by the end of the year. Tony McDonough reports

 

A Liverpool city region riding school is facing eviction at the end of this year following an ultimatum from its landlord.

Gellings Riding School has occupied land on what is known locally as “Hugo Fields” in Knowsley for the past 25 years. However, earlier this year it was revealed its future was under threat because its London-based landlord wants to sell the land and buildings.

Occupying 70 acres of the 150-acre area of green space, Gellings is a “much-loved community asset” located close to Prescot. It offers riding classes, animal therapy and access to a number of family leisure activities.

In January the riding school launched a fundraising campaign with the aim of buying some of the land and all of the buildings it occupies and securing its future. However, in the last few days its predicament has worsened.

One of the landowners, a registered charity called Entindale, has put the riding school site up for sale with a price tag of £2.5m. 

Another company, Amalcroft Properties, owns the rest of the land, although documents on Companies House show both entities have directors in common.

A post on the Friends of Gellings Riding School Facebook page said: “In the past two weeks things have got very serious for us, and Gellings riding school has received a notice to cease using the main field for our horses to graze.

“This collectively is making it difficult for us to turn out our riding school ponies and our livery horses out.

“In addition they (the landlord) have lodged an alleged claim of rent arrears which we deny exist together with a demand for an immediate increase in rent to £7,000 per month. Thirdly they issued a section 25 notice to terminate the Riding School tenancy on December 28, 2024

“A section 25 notice allows us to reply with a section 26 notice of our own but to be successful we need  to show that we have attempted to negotiate on the arrears (even though we deny they are real).”

Gellings says it can meet a monthly rent of £5,000 but says the remaining £2,000 each month will have to come from fundraising via the Friends group.

“This means in summary that the Friends of Gellings need to have available a worst case sum of £2,000 monthly for 18 months at a total cost £36,000 plus about a further amount to settle the alleged arrears,” it added.

“Despite us having a tenancy and having paid all of the rent that has been asked for the past 18 years, because the land will sell for much more with us gone, the owners are doing all they can to shut us down and get us off the site.”

 

 

Consequently The Friends are making two funding applications each for £30,000. One will be to the Liverpool City Region Environments Projects funds for the rent increase and the second is to Sport England’s Movement Fund.

Friends of Gellings are setting up two crowdfunders in the hope to raise enough funds to keep Gellings Riding School going.

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Gellings is also appealing to neighbouring businesses on Knowsley Business Park for the help and assistance, particularly if they have any open grassland they don’t currently use so the school can use it for grazing for horses and ponies. If you can help call 0151 548 9595.

LBN has attempted to contact both Entindale and Amalcroft Properties, via their property agent, for comment.

In a separate statement earlier this year, Knowsley Council said: “The council recognises that the Gellings Riding School is an important community asset which is at risk of being lost.

“It is supporting the riding school’s application for funding from the Government’s Community Empowerment Fund which would enable the Riding School to acquire the site and continue to run the facility for the benefit of the local community.”