Category Archives: Floods

Big Brexit question mark over EU legal action against UK government for failing to protect Walshaw Moor

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Following the EU Referendum vote, Linda McAvan MEP has said it’s unclear what effect the vote for the UK to leave the EU is going to have on the EU Commission’s pursuit of the Ban the Burn complaint about the legality of a £2.5 million Environmental Stewardship Agreement (ESA) that Natural England has awarded the grouse-shooting Walshaw Moor Estate.

Linda said that she can’t give a definitive  answer to this question, since all is up in the air, but she guesses that given that EU legal cases are premised on continued EU membership,  she can’t see why the Commission would invest time in pursuing the prosecution if the UK is going to be out of the EU.  

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Vote remain! EU Commission has started legal process against UK government for conservation breaches on Walshaw Moor Estate

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Here is a reason to remain in the EU – the European Commission has started a legal process against the UK government for:

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Calderdale Catchment Plan Workshop 18th June, Halifax

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Calderdale Catchment Plan Director at the Environment Agency has sent out the Workshop Invitation for 18th June, 9:30 – 13:00, Imperial Crown Hotel, Halifax, HX1 1QE.

I’d like to invite you to participate in an important half day workshop to formally start the process of creating the Calderdale Catchment Plan. We’re keen to bring together the key individuals, groups and organisations who are working on flooding and water management issues, to share the work they are doing, pool resources and collectively design a process that will enable us to produce an effective Catchment Plan. Continue reading →

Help monitor blanket bog burning on Walshaw Moor – Tuesday 15 March

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Walshaw Moor Estate grouse shooting business is burning the blanket bog to such an extent that it is exposing and breaking the surface of the peat. This is not allowed under the conditions of the Estate’s Environmental Stewardship Agreement with Natural England.

Upper Calderdale Wildlife Group are monitoring the burning but they need help. If you’d like to learn how to be a burning monitor, please join them at 2pm on Tuesday 15 March at  Widdop Gate, at the start of the track to Gorple Lower reservoir (on the left hand side of the road coming from Hebden Bridge). Continue reading →

New £5K Flood Resilience & Resistance Grants for Communities, Home Owners & Businesses #hebdenrising

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Calderdale Council has just launched a new repair and renew grant scheme, to provide grants of up to £5,000 to home owners, businesses and communities that were flooded. The grants are TO IMPLEMENT FLOOD RESISTANCE AND RESILIENCE MEASURES to minimise the impact of any future floods. They will NOT provide funding support for general repairs.

For more information, please read on. Continue reading →

£2,500 Calderdale Council grants for flood-hit businesses

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Calderdale Council estimates that 1,250 businesses have been affected by the Boxing Day floods. These businesses can apply to the Council for financial support to help them get back on their feet.

Businesses that are eligible for the grant are small to medium enterprises, charities and other third sector organisations.

A grant of up to £2,500 per business is available to help them open up and start trading again after damage caused by the Boxing Day storm. The funding covers costs such as clean up equipment (generators, dehumidifiers, lighting, brushes etc), building and stock security, IT and electricity, temporary accommodation, specialist advice and marketing to keep customers informed. Continue reading →

£500 flood hardship grant for households – including those who live on boats

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If your home was flooded a one off payment of £500 per household is available. This includes people who live on a boat as their main accommodation and who were affected by the flooding.

The grant is to help support you with your recovery costs, e.g. repairs or paying for alternative accommodation.

Like other householders, boat dwellers are also entitled to the Council Tax suspension. Volunteers from the HB flood relief hub are visiting those living on boats and will pass this information on. Continue reading →

The real story of the Calder Valley floods: restored communities and faith in humanity

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One week on from devastating Boxing Day floods that swamped Calder Valley, the real story is that people galvanized together to save themselves and have been magnificently supported by a wide range of groups from all backgrounds, some of whom have travelled long distances to help.

Throughout Calder Valley, flood relief hubs sprang up immediately in the string of towns and villages, to match volunteer support with requests for help. Continue reading →

Flood relief- where to go to offer/receive help & how to protect your health

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This is the final update to this post summarising info about the volunteer-run flood relief effort across Calder Valley. I have been updating this post often, to try and keep information about what help is needed and being offered as current as possible. But now (8th Jan) things have changed so much since the initial amazing, volunteer- run emergency response that this is the last update I’ll be making to this post, although I’ll leave it up with material that’s still current after this date. Any new info I’ll post in individual posts. Most recent update: 12 noon Friday 8th Jan. Here is the Calderdale Council Flood FAQs page for info on Council flood relief
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