Hebden Bridge Disability Access Forum would like to hear from you!

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Getting out and about can be challenging for many reasons: mental health issues, chronic illness, autism, hearing or mobility impairments, communication difficulties.

Do you identify as disabled, deaf or have a long-term health condition? Do you experience barriers that stop you from fully accessing life in the Hebden Bridge area?

Whatever your personal experience of disability, Hebden Bridge Disability Access Forum (HBDAF) would like to hear from you.

Here’s how to contact them:

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#AxeDrax – Climate campaigners denounce government’s approval of UK’s biggest ever gas power project

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The 4th October decision by the Secretary of State for  Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to allow Drax Plc’s planning application for the UK’s largest ever gas-fired power capacity will lock the UK into dirty energy production for at least another two decades, climate campaigners have said.

Government overruled Planning Inspector’s recommendation to refuse the gas plant

The Secretary Of State overruled the Planning Inspector’s recommendation to refuse the plant, with the bizarre claim that the new gas plant didn’t contradict the “move towards net zero carbon”.

The Planning Inspector’s recommendation agreed with key objections made to Drax’s planning appliction, and with the arguments Biofuelwatch and others including ClientEarth put forward.

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Start of grouse moor burning season – please report all burning to RSPB

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• Grouse moor burning is now banned on blanket bog

• The burning season started on 1st October and runs until 15th April

• Please report all burning you see to Valerie.Wheeler@RSPB.org.uk – if possible with photos, videos and location info.

Grouse estates burn the moors to engineer optimal breeding habitat for red grouse – for their own profit.

A recent RSPB blog post reports that in June 2019, Natural England revoked agreements for grouse moors to burn over blanket bog.

We need to keep an eye out on the moors to see if the landowners respect this limitation on burning.

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Standing room only as Town Council questions Hebden Bridge Group Practice about public concerns

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Members of the public crowded into Hebden Royd Town Council chamber on September 25th, to hear Dr Nigel Taylor address widespread public concerns about patient safety and restricted access to appointments with Hebden Bridge Group practice doctors.

He was there at the invitation of Hebden Royd Town Council, which had asked the Practice to explain what was going on.

The meeting followed at least two years of public anxiety about lack of access to adequate health care, after the Practice decided to send all patients needing urgent appointments to a morning walk-in clinic in Mytholmroyd.

Dr Taylor said that the Practice is “desperate to recruit more GPs” and has been advertising continuously since five of the 12 GPs left in 2018 for personal reasons. It now only has 9.25 Full Time Equivalent GPs and GP equivalents (Advanced Practice Nurses and Pharmacy Practitioners), for 18,000 patients. Continue reading →

29th July Calderdale Council Cabinet will discuss cutting back on glyphosate use

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At a meeting in Halifax Town on 29 July (starting at 6pm) the Cabinet will consider a report that recommends Calderdale Council stops using glyphosate within its parks and on roadside verges. It calls these “soft landscapes”.

However the Cabinet has to wait for another report before considering whether to stop the use of the herbicide within hard landscapes, such as street pavements and at the roadside. This report will include fully costed plans.

The reason given for the delay is that the Council needs time to undertake trials into more environmentally sustainable methods to remove weeds.

As we said last time the Council put out a press release about reducing glyphosate use – they are kicking the can down the road. Continue reading →

Primary School invites people to observe use of foamstream as alternative to glyphosate on school grounds

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Alternative weed control methods will be used at Northern Primary School, Burnley Rd, Bacup OL13 8PH on Wednesday 12th June – Friday 15th June, from  10-4pm approx – traffic permitting as the contractor is travelling down from York.

The contractor will be working at the school using a foamstream machine to tackle the weeds, clean play areas and equipment, clear weeds on the artificial surfaces, fence lines, and forest school and undertake a pioneering exercise marking the school pitch.  (Apparently glyphosate is usually added to the paint during conventional marking of pitches). Continue reading →

Support Woodsetts against Fracking at 11th June INEOS Planning Inquiry in #Rotherham

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As you may know, INEOS have lodged an appeal with the planning inspectorate against Rotherham Council’s decision to refuse permission for exploratory drilling at a site on the edge of Woodsetts.

Starting on Tuesday 11th June, the Appeal will be heard at Riverside House, Main Street, Rotherham, S60 1AE. It will last for eight days.

  • Woodsetts against Fracking (WAF)  need as many people as possible to come to Rotherham on the opening morning, 11th June, at 9.00 AM with lots of banners and placards.
  • They are also asking for people to make short video statements to the WAF media team outside the Appeal, and to take part in a photo shoot mid-morning.
  • They’re also asking for people to be present in the public gallery throughout the hearing.

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Big Hebden Bridge call for Yorkshire Water to stop grouse shooting on its land

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Ban the Burn was one of 17 groups across Yorkshire that took part in Yorkshire Water Day of Action on 25th May, organised by StopThe Shoot.

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People queued up at the Ban the Burn stall in St George’s Square to sign petition  cards to Yorkshire Water’s Chief Executive Officer, saying they want an end to grouse shooting on the water company’s land. All 100 cards were signed in just over an hour. Continue reading →

Blanket Bog 1: Walshaw Moor Estate 0. Stone and timber access tracks won’t be built

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The Walshaw Moor Estate proposed new stone and timber track across protected blanket bog will not go ahead, even though Natural England had included it in its Appropriate Assessment of the 2017 version of the Catchment Restoration Plan 2017 – 2042. This Assessment concluded that

“it can be ascertained that the plan or project will not have an adverse effect on the integrity of the Moors SAC and SPA either alone or in combination.”

But in 2019 Natural England had to change its assessment of the track and remove it from the Catchment Restoration Plan.

This was thanks to:

On 19th March this year, Walshaw Moor Estate emailed Calderdale Council Planning Services to withdraw their APPLICATION 18/00237/FUL.

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