Hebden Bridge

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Busy Autumn Ahead

The nights may be drawing in but there’s plenty of fun events happening in the next couple of months, all listed on our Events page. A few highlights include:

A beer and cider festival at the White Lion on the weekend of 2 – 4 October, with an apple pie competition on the Sunday.

A service of blessing for pets at St Thomas’ Church on Sunday 4 October, followed by a peal of bells.

A concert at St Thomas’ by Hebden Bridge Brass Band on Saturday 17 October.

And then the village gears up for a busy season of Hallowe’en events at the Bowling Club, Christmas fairs at both church and chapel, and much more.

 

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New housing and other developments

New housing estates in Heptonstall will be considered as part of Calderdale’s “Land Allocation and Designation Plan”, and the council is urging local residents to make their views known.

The plan will influence all future planning decisions for many years to come, and a series of public workshops are being held. Three major plans for housing estates and several smaller schemes have been submitted for the Heptonstall and Colden area as part of the first stage of the plan.

Plans now on the Calderdale Council website which have been submitted for consideration include:

Land next to Draper Lane, Slack: 187 semi-detached and terraced dwellings (reference CFS-0256) (this is part of the land now being considered for a caravan site).

Land next to Towngate, Heptonstall: 57 semi-detached and terraced houses (reference CFS-0226)

Land next to Lily Hall, Heptonstall Road, 5 to 10 terraced cottages (reference CFS-0303)

Gypsy Flats, Colden Road, Blackshaw Head: up to 90 houses (reference CFS -0181)

The meeting for Hebden Bridge area is on 6th February @  7.00 to 9.00 p.m. – at Hebden Bridge Town Hall

Places are limited, so if you wish to attend, please contact 01422 392206 or email spatial.planning@calderdale.gov.uk.

Full details of these and other smaller plans can be seen by searching from Calderdale’s planning page for site submissions.

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New houses next to Bowling Club?

The Parish Council will be considering plans about a community group’s self-build project for the “Co-op field”, directly opposite the Bowling Club car park, at their next meeting on December 9.

Hebden Bridge & Todmorden Community Self Build Housing Community Interest Company (usually known as HATS CIC) are looking for a site suitable for self-building about 20 houses – a mix of 2,3 and 4 bedroom houses according to this article by energyroyd.org.uk., which says the houses would be sustainably built to a high standard, with room for gardens and allotments.

They say the houses would be available for modest rents, and would remain the property of the trust so they could never be sold at a profit on the open market.

Roger Greenwood, clerk to the parish council, said: “The council is not aware of any specific intentions in respect of this land – a request for Asset Transfer from Calderdale Council to the Parish Council failed and therefore remains in C/dale ownership. The HATS CIC issue will be considered at a future meeting.”

More information about the Hebden Bridge & Todmorden Community Self Build Housing CIC is available on their website. The following is taken directly from it:

The Hebden Bridge & Todmorden Community Self Build Housing CIC is a community interest company incorporated by volunteers and residents of the Upper Calder Valley concerned over the long term provision of affordable housing within the community. 

The objectives of the project is to deliver a housing development and mechanism for narrowing the differential gap between average housing cost and average wage of young people and families in Hebden Bridge and Todmorden, through:                
                – Community Land Trust
– Self Build
– Flagship Development for the Zero Carbon Challenge
– Co-operative Housing

What is a Community Land Trust?
A Community Land Trust is a mechanism for acquiring and holding land for the benefit of a defined locality or community, and operates to capture the value of the land for the community in perpetuity. The formation of a Community Land Trust can deliver affordable housing for local people on modest incomes by taking the land cost out of the total price of a home.

Why Self Build?
Self Build Initiative – by inviting members of the community, in need of an affordable option for family housing, to contribute 15 hours per week of their own labour, to build part or all of their home, up to 25% of the build cost may be represented in terms of sweat equity.

Why Flagship Zero Carbon Development?
Flagship Development for the Zero Carbon Challenge – Construction and designs to flagship zero carbon targets may achieve up to 70% reduction in typical household fuel consumption costs.

What is a Housing Co-operative?
Housing co-operatives are groups of people who collectively own and manage the properties they live in. The premise of housing co-operative is that it will never be sold or flipped for profit so members can choose to remain in the co-op for a long time. This encourages involvement and commitment to the community and allows members to feel secure in their co-op and their neighbourhood.

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Bus Service Threat

Metro and First bus companies are proposing to scrap through buses from Heptonstall to Halifax.

There will be a half-hourly service from Blackshaw Head through Heptonstall to Hebden Bridge, and a bus every ten minutes from Todmorden via Hebden Bridge to Halifax.

Their statement below:

First are considering making substantial changes to bus services in Hebden Bridge,  particularly services 591 and 593 at the end of January 2014. The company plan to operate every 10 minutes (Monday to Saturday) between Halifax and Todmorden via Hebden Bridge. To achieve this there will no longer be a direct service to Halifax from Heptonstall and Old Town.

Metro is proposing a revised minibus network for the area which will both address recent unreliability problems and maintain links to Hebden Bridge which would be lost following the changes to services 591 and 593.

Metro and First would like to seek your views on these proposals.

Why change is needed        

  • First have indicated that they wish to concentrate resources on an improved Halifax – Hebden Bridge – Todmorden service
  • Unreliability of current minibus network due to vehicle problems
  • The current minibuses are reaching the end of their working life
  • Poor connections to train and longer distance bus services
  • Duplication of bus resources on routes to/ from Old Town, Heptonstall, Keighley Road and Cragg Vale
  • The need to find a solution which does not involve additional public subsidy

Proposals by First

  • Service frequency between Halifax and Todmorden increased to every 10 minutes from 0700 until 1800 (Mon – Fri). “Turn up and go” frequency between Hebden Bridge and Todmorden
  • Services 591 (Heptonstall – Halifax) and 593 (Old Town – Halifax) withdrawn

Proposals by Metro

  • Metro will invite tenders for a new minibus network increasing from 3 buses to 4 buses
  • Smaller minibuses introduced to improve access

What type of buses will be used?

Metro are proposing to increase the number of minibuses from 3 to 4 and to use smaller vehicles which are better equipped for roads in the area. This will enable us to serve more areas.  The smaller buses will carry up to 16 passengers. Unfortunately the use of smaller buses will mean less room for shopping, buggies etc. Also some passengers may find it harder to get into and out of a smaller minibus.  We will finalise the make and model of buses when we appoint a bus operator for the services.

To complete the survey, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/hebdenbridgebusreview

Alternatively, public consultation drop-in events during August, where First and Metro staff will be available to answer questions and listen to your suggestions.

DATE TIME LOCATION
Wednesday 07 August 10:00 – 18:30 Hebden Bridge Town Hall
Thursday 15 August 14:30 – 18:30 Halifax Bus Station

If you need to contact Metro regarding these proposals, please email busconsultation@wypte.gov.uk