Calderdale Council has refused Incredible Edible Mytholm‘s nomination of the Mytholm Works site as a community asset. However, this has not deterred Incredible Edible Mytholm (IEM) from proceeding with their plans for Growing Futures.
If the nomination had been successful, this would have meant that if/when the owners of the site put it on the market, Calderdale Council would put the sale on hold for six months to allow Incredible Edible Mytholm time to set up a community-owned company, create a business plan and raise capital through a community share offer or similar means.
As it is, IEM will simply go ahead with preparing a business plan, in order to be prepared, should Setbray/Belmont Homes decide to put the site on the market.
Incredible Edible Mytholm believes the site is valuable to the community
It has the potential to make big contributions to social wellbeing and people’s cultural and recreational interests. You can read section 3.2_IEM_community asset nomination, which states the case for nominating the site as a community asset.
The group’s vision for Brown’s Field/Mytholm Works site is for it to become a community-owned sustainable food growing business with a farm gate retail market, permaculture and aquaculture training and education, children’s natural play space and eco-hotel.
Maybe we can create a beautiful forest garden on the site….
Permaculture food growing info
Here’s a video about permaculture food growing with Sepp Holzer, who pretty much developed the process.
Planning Committee meeting defers supermarket and hotel planning application for the site
Calderdale Council Planning Committee met on Tuesday 4th December at 6pm in Halifax Town Hall, in order to consider the Mytholm Works owners’ planning application for a supermarket, hotel and hydro electric power station. The Planning Officer recommended that the Planning Committee refuse the application, but the Planning Committee deferred the application because the developers had not provided a retail impact assessment.
Incredible Edible Mytholm Secretary Jenny Shepherd spoke at the Planning Committee meeting on behalf of objectors to the planning application.
Updated 5 Feb 2013 with news that Calderdale Council has refused to register Mytholm Works as a community asset, and IEM’s response.