CHILDREN at Woodland last week bade farewell to a man who saved their school from closure more than three decades ago.
Ex-Woodland Parish Council chairman Cliff Harding and his wife Barbara, who are moving to west Yorkshire to be closer to their children, have been a pivotal part of the community for many years.
His dedication to the village not only saw him fight for the primary school when it was threatened with closure in the late 1980s, but he also campaigned against plans for an open cast coal mine near the village and the creation of a wind farm nearby.
He served as vice chairman of the school governors for several years.
The school paid tribute to his efforts during an assembly last week, where he was given a card and photograph in gratitude.
Headteacher Clare Carr said: “Cliff’s association with our school goes back decades. Just recently, when he was moving, he brought lots of documents and information that were all to do with a big campaign that he was running in the 1980s to keep this school open.
“If it wasn’t for Cliff this school wouldn’t be here in the village today.”
Members of Woodland Parish Council also attended the assembly and presented Mr Harding with a print of one of his favourite Norman Cornish paintings.
Of the campaign to keep the school open, Cllr Harding said: “No one expected [success] at the time. There was a lot of behind-the-scenes work to keep this place going. I am pleased that we did, so we could have the wonderful, excellent school as it is today, at the heart of the village.”
His own children, Helen and Stewart, attended the school. He joined the parish council in 1991, shortly after the school was saved and along with being its chairman, he has also been its acting clerk for the past few years.
During his tenure the village playground was rebuilt twice.
Less successful was a campaign to prevent an open cast mine at the west end of the village, but the parish council did, however, get the land restored once operations ceased,
The 72-year-old said: “It was returned to the original contours and the stonewalls and hedges reinstated.”
More successful was a campaign to prevent a wind farm being put of near the village.
Cllr Harding said: “I am pleased that, on the important issues, we didn’t fail.”
A single sticking point for the councillor is the parish boundary – two thirds of the village lies within Woodland Parish Council area, but one third is governed by Lynesack and Softley Parish Council.
Indeed, the school he saved actually falls in the Lynesack and Softley area.
The parish council had been working to have a community review of the boundary and were preparing a petition when the covid pandemic started.
After covid, attempts to revive the review were again put on hold because of the Boundary Commission’s current re-assessment of ward boundaries.
Cllr Harding said: “A regret is that I haven’t got that in place before I leave. I am sad to be leaving the village – we will certainly miss the village, the school and all the kids.”
