Everyone is welcome to a discussion led by Geoff Tansey about the future of food, hosted by Blackshaw Environmental Action Team in Heptonstall on Wednesday 9th January at 7.45PM at the Social and Bowling Club. The topic is Our food future – global vs local? Admission is free.
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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.
Here are some possibilities for the proposed Ecohotel that Incredible Edible Mytholm would like to build on the Mytholm Works site, if the group is able to raise the money to buy the site and gain planning permission:
(Just to clarify: the inspiration is the biodiversity green wall, edible green screen and rainwater harvesting – not the dreary 1990s-type building they’re adorning.)
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How does Brown’s Site (the Mytholm Works site) contribute to the wellbeing of the community? Although some people characterise the site as an “eyesore”, many people in Mytholm talk about enjoying the way the field is home to a wide variety of wildlife- from bats, birds, bees and butterflies to deer. They also appreciate it as a green space that serves as a lung to help clear the air pollution created by traffic on Kings Road. Being close to the site provides a sense of wellbeing for the people who enjoy the wildlife and the breathing space.
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Meanwhile leases are temporary leases that allow businesses to use property that’s lying vacant, often because the owners are waiting for the right time to develop it.
The vacant site acquired through a meanwhile lease, before Moveable Feast made it into a community garden- photo credit MoveableFeast blog
On November 15th an enthusiastic meeting of people from Mytholm and other parts of Hebden Bridge and the Upper Calder Valley set up Incredible Edible Mytholm (IEM) as an unincorporated association, with the aim of nominating the Mytholm Works site as a community asset, and elected the IEM steering group and officers.
Anyone who shares this aim and wishes to join Incredible Edible Mytholm is welcome to become a member.
Locality have confirmed that the draft constitution is fit for purpose and have suggested a minor modification to allow people to join the group who aren’t Calderdale residents. This doesn’t alter the fact that the group needs 21 members who are eligible to vote in Calderdale Council elections, in order to qualify as a group that can nominate a community asset.
Updated 26th Oct 2013
This page is about a year old now and things have moved on a lot. If you’ve landed here from the link on the Incredible Edible Network website, you might want to jump to Incredible Edible Mytholm’s homepage.
Anyone up for forming a group to nominate Mytholm Works as a community asset?
Here’s some info on how this could work.
Steve Hoyle, the Calderdale Council officer responsible for dealing with the new Community Right to Bid, has emailed that by the end of this week, he should be able to send me the forms to use to nominate a community asset.
And Robin Tuddenham, Calderdale Council’s Director of Communities, has confirmed that although Calderdale Council has not yet decided on its procedure for creating a list or register of community assets, there’s no need to wait for this to happen. It’s ok to submit an expression of interest in nominating a community asset right away, using the nomination forms and guidance that Steve Hoyle aims to send out at the end of this week.
Chaired by Calderdale Councillor Janet Battye, a packed public meeting upstairs at the Stubbing Wharf pub fired questions about the proposed supermarket and hotel development to Calderdale planning officer Richard Seaman, architect Sam Deakin and the developers’ planning consultant Roger Lee.
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The current plannning application by Setbray Properties and Belmont Homes, for a hotel and supermarket on the Mytholm Works site, isn’t the only game in town.
A long term vision for affordable, sustainable food in Calderdale
IncredibleEdible Mytholm is currently applying for funding to cover the costs of commissioning a business plan, to find out about the economic viability of our ideas for a community-owned, not-for-profit sustainable food business on the site.
These are the brainchild of Dr Nik Green, who last October took time out from managing the Incredible Farm market garden in Walsden to talk about his ideas for a community-owned development at Mytholm works that would provide a “farm gate” retail outlet for locally produced food, alongside a permaculture market garden, an apprenticeship scheme for market gardeners, and an ecohotel and tourist attraction that could rival Cornwall’s Eden Project.
There have been positive responses to the post about developing the Mytholm Works site as a cooperative, intensive urban food production project. Nick Green, the Chair of Incredible Edible Growing Ltd commented,
“Sounds exciting for such a prominent site – community share offer, growing centre with architectural growhouse and an eco hotel and local food outlet.”