Calderdale Council and Yorkshire Water team up to improve River Calder
The two organisations have signed a new agreement to improve health of the river
Hello and welcome to The Calderdale Lead.
I hope you’re all having a good weekend. This amazing weather has brought people out and about and I’m looking forward to heading to Todmorden today for the reopening of the town’s beautiful bandstand.
There’s loads of different acts going to be performing so if you’re at a loose end then why not head down yourself?
In today’s edition, we’ve got news of a unique new agreement signed between Calderdale Council and Yorkshire Water which is aiming to improve the health of the River Calder.
The Calder, which runs through many of the towns in our borough, faces a number of challenges which the two organisations are hoping to tackle.
Plus, we’ve got a couple of nuggets in the Calderdale Digest…
Calderdale Digest
🚸 Work is under way on an extension to replace four temporary classrooms at a leading Calderdale special school.
Calderdale Council has invested nearly £3 million to build a permanent extension at Ravenscliffe@Spring Hall in Halifax.
This will replace the four temporary classrooms that the council provided to support more students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
It forms part of the council’s work to increase the number of school places for children and young people with additional needs, in response to the national shortage.
Other actions include plans to build a new through school for primary and secondary special school places on the former Threeways community centre site in Ovenden, north Halifax, and creating a new alternative provision free school to provide short-term placements with a range of support for young people with complex needs.
The extension to the existing school building will include four classrooms, flexible space, a group room, a quiet and sensory room, toilet facilities and a dedicated outdoor play and social space.
🏠 Some cash from the sale of a Halifax car park will be used to help fill a funding gap for a social housing landlord to buy a property.
Calderdale Council and Calder Valley Community Land Trust have signed a grant agreement to progress buying a two-bedroom home in Heptonstall.
The council is providing funding of £90,000 towards the project, which will see the home at Northfield in a village where homes are described as sought-after.
The council’s contribution to help buy and renovate the property, which requires substantial refurbishment work, is coming from the authority’s Cow Green Affordable Housing Fund.
This was set up with money from the sale of Cow Green car park in Halifax town centre which the council ring-fenced to support affordable housing projects in the borough.
Council Cabinet housing portfolio holder Coun Scott Patient said the project supported aims of developing high-quality affordable housing in Calderdale.
“This innovative partnership project with Calder Valley Community Land Trust would provide a much-needed local affordable home for a young family and we’re pleased to be able to support the project, using ring-fenced funds for affordable housing,” he said.
Landmark agreement signed to help improve health of River Calder
By Andrew Greaves
Calderdale Council and Yorkshire Water have signed a landmark agreement to improve the health of the River Calder.
In the first agreement of its kind in the Yorkshire region, a new Memorandum of Understanding sets out how the two organisations will work more closely together to tackle pollution, improve water quality and support nature-based solutions across the Calder catchment.
The River Calder flows through many of the borough’s towns and villages and plays a vital role in the local environment, wildlife and communities.
In 2024, councillors heard the Calder was one of the worst for sewage spills in the country, with Yorkshire Water acknowledging the problem.
Like many rivers across the country, the Calder faces a number of challenges including historic industrial pollution, sewage discharges, pollution from surrounding land, residential misconnections and highway runoff.
Protecting and restoring the borough’s rivers and riverbanks is one of the key themes of the Calderdale Ecological Emergency Plan, and a recent Council Scrutiny review on river pollution looked at ways to improve the health of rivers in Calderdale.
One of the recommendations of this review was to strengthen joint working between the Council and Yorkshire Water. The new agreement provides a clear framework for how both organisations will work together to improve the health of the River Calder.
The document, signed by both the council and Yorkshire Water, focuses on the following priority areas:
Reducing the operation of Combined Sewage Overflows to help improve water quality
Improving coordination of highways drainage and surface water connections
Identifying, investigating and resolving property misconnections
Delivering sustainable catchment management and nature-based solutions to slow the flow of rainwater before it reaches the sewers and the river.
Increasing water storage and attenuation
Working together to raise public awareness on pollution prevention, such as encouraging people to not pour fats, oils and grease down sinks or flush wet wipes.
Sharing information for better targeting of work and to minimise duplication
Holding regular review meetings to track progress and adjust priorities
These pledges also build on further recent commitments, including Yorkshire Water’s plans to upgrade 19 Combined Sewage Overflows and the Barnsley Green Treatment Works in Calderdale between 2025 and 2030, as well as ongoing joint work between both organisations to tackle property misconnections.
Cllr Scott Patient, the council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Action and Housing, said: “The issue of river pollution is something that’s rightly had a large amount of national focus, and we’re passionate about the health of our local waterways and committed to doing all we can to improve them.
“Sadly, the River Calder, which flows across parts of West Yorkshire and through many Calderdale towns and villages, faces challenges relating to pollution. There are a number of different causes, but we’re determined to do all we can to deliver change locally and we’ve been working closely with local partners and communities to try and highlight these and develop a plan to tackle the issue.
“The signing of a shared Memorandum of Understanding with Yorkshire Water is a milestone in this work, and the first agreement of its kind in the region. It aims to deliver real and lasting change, providing a focus for our joint working and supporting a positive working partnership.
“The priority areas include actions for both organisations and build upon a significant amount of work already taking place.”
Clare Beasant, River Health Improvement manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “Improving the health of our rivers across Yorkshire is incredibly important to us and to our customers, and something we’re absolutely committed to achieving.”
More information about the work taking place as part of the Ecological Emergency Action Plan, can be found by clicking here.
That’s it for this edition of The Calderdale Lead.
We’ll be back with another edition on Wednesday and, as ever, if there’s something you think we should be following up on, feel free to drop me a line on calderdale@thelead.uk.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Andrew