Halifax MP has Yorkshire Water in her sights over neglect and mismanagement
Plus, windfarm petition hits 10,000 target
Hello and welcome to The Calderdale Lead.
I hope you were able to enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend despite the changeable weather! I had a love trip around different towns in borough, ending with a trip to one of my favourite gig venues - The Trades Club at Hebden Bridge - to watch Milltown Brothers (early 1990s indie heroes!).
In today’s edition we’ve got news of Halifax MP Kate Dearden taking the fight to Yorkshire Water after being inundated with complaints from constituents about the service they’ve received (or not in the case of running water at times!).
Plus,
So, on with the news…
Halifax MP takes residents’ fight to Yorkshire Water after ‘decline in service’
Halifax MP Kate Dearden says she’s ready to take on Yorkshire Water in a bid to secure improved service, proper compensation, and long-overdue accountability.
Since taking office last summer, Ms Dearden has been inundated with messages from constituents reporting pressure issues, delayed repairs, and soaring bills - despite a clear decline in service quality.
Yorkshire Water’s record in the area is already a cause for concern. In 2024 alone, there was over 1,500 sewage spills in Halifax and Yorkshire Water was previously ranked the second-worst company in the UK for sewage discharges.
Ms Dearden said these repeated failures are part of a wider pattern of neglect and mismanagement.
“I hear from residents every week about the disruption caused by Yorkshire Water - from going without water for hours to seeing no progress on long-promised repairs. Then the bill arrives, and it’s sky-high,” she said.
"Enough is enough. Yorkshire Water is not delivering for Halifax, and people deserve better. That’s why I’m fighting for compensation for those left without basic services, for faster repairs, and for a properly regulated, reliable water system."
Ms Dearden is calling on residents in Halifax to make their voices heard by taking part in a survey she’s launched this week to catalogue people’s experiences.
This local campaign sits alongside the broader action being taken by the Labour Government through the Water (Special Measures) Act, which will:
Strengthen Ofwat’s powers to hold water companies accountable
Ban bonuses for executives at failing companies
Introduce automatic and severe fines for environmental breaches
Double compensation for households and businesses when basic water services are disrupted
Establish independent customer panels to hold water company bosses to account
Ms Dearden added: “The previous Tory Government allowed water companies to run wild with people’s money while standards fell. We are changing that. But alongside national action, we need to expose what’s happening locally - and I will make sure Halifax is not ignored.”
Any residents wanting to take part in the survey can do so by clicking here.
Windfarm campaigners force Gov’t response after petition hits 10k
By John Greenwood
Campaigners against controversial proposals to build a giant windfarm on a swathe of West Yorkshire moorland say their petition has hit its 10,000 signature target.
Stronger Together to Stop Calderdale Windfarm say they are “delighted” that people have signed their Parliamentary petition to ban windfarms on protected peatland in England and this means the Government must respond to them.
Spokesperson Jenny Shepherd said: “It is vital that the Government acts on our message about the importance of protected peatland throughout England.
“Their drive to speed up construction of big onshore wind farms is all about reaching Net Zero – but peatland restoration is also essential to these efforts.
“These habitats capture and store huge amounts of carbon dioxide, up to four times as much as tropical rainforest for instance.
“So it makes no sense to damage peatlands by building windfarms on them.
“These areas also enjoy international protection for endangered birds, and have a vital role in mitigating flooding in the valleys and providing good quality water,” she said.
Locally, the group aims to stop the development of a massive windfarm across nine square miles of Walshaw Moor, above Hebden Bridge and close to Haworth.
Previously named Calderdale Wind Farm, the scheme has recently been rebranded as Calderdale Energy Park, with Calder Wind Farm Ltd (CWFL) recently starting a non-statutory consultation over proposals to place a now-reduced – from 65 – 41 turbines there.
The campaign group says each would be as tall as Blackpool Tower and with a lot of related infrastructure.
Calder Wind Farm Ltd argues that the Calderdale Energy Park would be capable of generating enough electricity to power the equivalent of approximately 250,000 homes and reduce national CO2 emissions by approximately 354,000 tonnes each year, they claim.
The campaigners say they are unconvinced blanket bog will be as unaffected say developers are claiming and remain adamant that in their view the revised proposal would be as damaging blanket bog as the original.
Campaigners are urging people to respond to the consultation, which runs until June 10, although they say so far they are not satisfied with answers given to their questions.
Residents can take part in the consultation by clicking here.
That’s it for this edition of The Calderdale Lead.
Don’t forget, if you have a story that you think I should be looking at, drop me a line on calderdale@thelead.uk.
Until Sunday, have a great week!
Andrew
All the Water (Special Measures) Act measures listed in your article sound great, & long overdue, but there also needs to be measures to ensure that the cost of YW's infrastructure improvements aren't just passed onto their customers, which is exactly what they've been doing!
My water bills have gone up by about 30% recently & I was told, very enthusiastically, that it was to improve xyz whereas it seems to me that it's actually to bring the level of service up to the minimum we should be entitled to.
Personally I believe that utilities such as water should be nationalised & that their focus should be orientated towards providing a good 'product' & service, rather than making money for shareholders & executives. If this was done then any profits could be put back into improving & maintaining the infrastructure & keeping customers' bills down.
The government is beginning to do this with the railways, so why not with other utilities too?