Calderdale Council Cabinet votes Monday Feb 11th on £9m investment in new waste incinerator

A week after the Department for Communities and Local Government refused to hold a public inquiry into controversial plans for a waste incinerator in North Yorkshire, Calderdale Council has announced that tomorrow, on Monday 11 February, Calderdale’s Cabinet will consider a report which recommends the Council invests £9m in a new waste incinerator  to be constructed at Bowling Back Lane in Bradford.

If you want to tell the Cabinet what you think of this, here is the list of Cabinet members, with links to their email addresses.
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Review Horton House sell off, says Calderdale SOS

Today, Wednesday 6 February at 6pm, Calderdale Council Use of Resources Scrutiny Panel is to consider Calderdale Save Our Services’ request for a public consultation on the future of adult education in Halifax.

Adult learners who study at Horton House, Halifax’s Adult Education Centre, have been left in the dark about Calderdale Council’s decision to sell the Centre. And so far, the Council has no clear idea where it will relocate adult learning.

Horton House_photo:Calderdale SOS

Calderdale Save Our Services (SOS), a group of trades unionists and members of the public who are working to defend jobs and services against privatisation and Government-enforced cuts, says the decision to “dispose of” and close Horton House was buried in the Halifax Town Centre Office Strategy Report last Summer.
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Chucking a steak to the HealthWatch dog?

How can an organisation funded by Calderdale Council – and, indirectly, central government – be expected to act as an independent, public watchdog for Calderdale Council public health policies, strategies and actions, and for the NHS purchasing decisions of the new Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group?

If you share these doubts, you might want to get in touch with Calderdale Save Our Services and/or your local Councillor.

Calderdale Council has awarded the £302k 2013-2015 contract for Local HealthWatch to Voluntary Action Calderdale, who bid for it in 2012.

The Coalition government’s Health and Safety Act 2012 requires Councils to fund a Local HealthWatch group. This is supposed to be “the consumer champion within the new NHS and social care arrangements, providing influence, signposting and advocacy for service users”, according to a Calderdale Cabinet Report of 10 December 2012. Continue reading

Calderdale Council refuses to register Brown’s Field/Mytholm Works site as community asset

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.

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Ask your Hebden Royd and Calderdale councillor to help make Ecocide a crime

The campaign to Eradicate Ecocide aims to outlaw the destruction of ecosystems by making it the 5th international crime against peace. To help this happen, you can ask your Hebden Royd and Calderdale Councillors to support the creation of the law of ecocide, and send them a Template-motion-for-councillors that spells out a motion for them to put to the Council. Oxford Council has already done this, so it’s not unheard of.
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DCarb Upper Calder Valley news June 2012

The DCarb meeting on 27th June mainly focussed on:

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Calderdale Council to set up new Energy Future panel & call for members

Who would you like to see on a new Calderdale Energy Future Panel?

Calderdale Council’s Partnership Support Team says that Calderdale Council is currently setting up a new Energy Future Panel, which is likely to replace the former Environment Partnership. The Calder Forward website will be updated with this information in due course. It will include a call for members of the new Calderdale Energy Future Panel

There’s some information about Calderdale Council Partnerships and the Environment Partnership here.

DCarb Upper Calder Valley news

DCarb Upper Calder Valley is an umbrella group for local organisations that are working to reduce and adapt to climate change. It is open to new members. For more info, contact the secretary Anne Handley, via Hebden Bridge Alternative Technology Centre, tel: 01422 842121.
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How to make buses better

Information from Calderdale Council’s Transportation Officer about problems with Tyrers bus services in and around Hebden is, that Tyrers have given notice (again) that they are giving up the contract and Metro will put the service out to tender again within the coming weeks.

This Tyrers contract is part-funded by Calderdale Council, until Metro are able to carry out their review of the Calderdale bus network, which is due to begin later this year.

The Council will press Metro to make sure that a more reliable operator takes over the services. But Metro’s budget for tendered services is drastically reduced and they will find it extremely difficult to accept any bids that come in at a much higher price than the current contract.

How to make buses better is a guide for young people, but I reckon anyone will find it useful. Given the issues with some of the bus services run by Tyrer, it’s useful to know things like:

  • Who runs and makes decisions about buses in your area
  • How decisions are made on when and where buses run
  • What happens when a bus service is cut
  • Who decides how much you pay for your bus fare
  • What to expect from your local bus service if you have a disability
  • How to make a complaint or suggestion about buses
  • How to have your say about public transport

The How to Make Buses Better guide links to information from the Campaign for Better Transport on how to get a good bus service and what to do if a bus service is being cut. The Campaign for Better Transport is trying to Save our Buses. Its interactive map shows that West Yorkshire Metro is looking to cut bus funding by 25 per cent. The map may be a bit out of date, I’m not sure.

Other useful links & info:

  • West Yorkshire Metro is the transport authority for this area and the organisation to contact about bus fares, services that have been removed, bus routes and timetables.
  • Bus Appeals Body is the bus industry and passenger watchdog. “It will look into complaints on things like buses running to time, charging the correct fare and the behaviour of staff. It will investigate on your behalf if you have complained to the bus company first but were not happy with their response (or you didn’t get a response at all).”
  • Passenger Focus and Traffic Commissioners (who deal with bus safety and maintenance)
Calderdale Councillors also have a role in making sure the Metro provides decent bus services.