Halifax set to bid to become UK's first 'Town of Culture'
Councillors back bid which will be submitted by the end of this month.
Hello and welcome to the midweek edition of The Calderdale Lead.
I know I frequently bang on about the weather in this opening gambit but how brilliant has it been to see some proper sunshine this week?
The good weather is apparently due to last a few days so maybe it’s time to shove the sweaters back into the wardrobe and pull out the t-shirts… I certainly hope so!
In this edition, we’ve got news of councillors backing a bid to make Halifax the UK’s first ‘Town of Culture’.
The Government will introduce the title for 2028 and I’m sure we all share the opinion that Halifax would be a worthy recipient. Check out the story from my colleague John Greenwood for more.
Plus, we’ve got a couple of nuggets in the Calderdale Digest.
So, on with the news…
Calderdale Digest
⚒️ Bosses from Halifax-based Hargreaves Foundry have paid a visit to the Palace of Westminster’s Elizabeth Tower, home to Big Ben, to check out the company’s contribution to the tower’s recent restoration.
Managing Directors Michael Hinchliffe and Helen Thornber visited the iconic tower to see first-hand the results of the restoration project, which included cast iron work produced by the Halifax firm.
Hargreaves Foundry played an important role in its restoration, with their cast iron used throughout the Tower, including in its gutters and roof tiles.
Helen and Michael were joined by representatives from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the restoration’s architects, Purcell. Visitors were guided through the history of the tower and the restoration project, with the tour including the clock mechanism and the inside of the bell tower, where they were able to hear the famous Big Ben chime.
During the visit, Helen, Michael and Halifax MP Kate Dearden were delighted to see first-hand the Hargreaves Foundry ‘HF’ stamp on the metalwork throughout the tower.
Michael said: “We’re proud to have been chosen to work on this historic, iconic and world renowned building. The project has been one of the highlights of our careers.”
💷 Calderdale Council’s financial position has worsened as demand to care for its vulnerable people and fix its roads has increased.
Half way through the financial year the council was projecting a £5.4 million deficit on its £249.8 million budget for 2025-26 but a further three months on it is predicted that by the years end in March the figure will be £7.2 million.
Deficits have to be covered by the council’s financial reserves, which senior councillors are warned are limited.
Senior Cabinet councillors heard savings the authority has been making through the year have seen good progress.
But they are still being out-stripped by demand for some services the council has to provide.
Cabinet member for Resources, Cllr Silvia Dacre said: “This is not perhaps the news we’d hoped for.
“This has primarily been as a result of considerable difficulty in controlling spend in some of our demand-led services such as adults and children’s services and also highways repairs.”
The overall figure masked good progress in reducing overspends but the warning was there that if the council cannot entirely reduce the deficit by the financial years’ end, then further reserves would have to be used, she said.
When preparing the 2026-27 budget – which councillors approved in February – baseline budgets for each directorate were set in such a way as to avoid this year’s level of overspending in the year ahead, said Cllr Dacre.
Councillors back bid for Halifax to take ‘Town of Culture’ title in 2028
By John Greenwood
Halifax is throwing its hat into the ring, bidding to become the first UK Town of Culture.
Senior Calderdale councillors agreed to submit an expression of interest for the borough’s main town becoming Town of Culture in its first year, 2028, by the March 31 deadline.
They believe they have a good case, building on top of tangible benefits from Calderdale’s Year of Culture, which ran from spring 2024 to spring 2025 – popularly and memorably dubbed as “CultureDale”.
Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Scott Patient said: “We’ve got a really rich opportunity for the Town of Culture.”
Cllr Danielle Durrans, Cabinet member for Public Services and Communities, said CultureDale had proved to be an economic driver and not just an “add on.”
This had been recognised by hospitality, retail and other businesses.
She said: “Cultural visitors stay longer, spend more and are much more likely to return, which of course does directly support our local jobs and local growth within the area.
“We were able to raise Calderdale’s profile nationally through CultureDale, with a stronger, more confident story about our borough as a place of creativity, heritage and real ambition.
“And that matters when we are competing for visitor investment and external funding,” she said.
It produced benefits for communities too, supporting grass roots organisations across all council wards, including helping them access funding they could not previously reach.
Cllr Durrans said this ensured “culture is inclusive and deeply rooted.”
From the council’s perspective, “the return on investment has been extremely strong – a modest investment from the council has unlocked significant external investment,” she said.
Calderdale’s Year of Culture was backed by a £2.4m funding pot, including £400,000 from Calderdale Council itself and around £2m secured from external grants and investment, such as support from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and national cultural bodies.
Cllr Adam Wilkinson noted the near-doubling of the worth of tourism to the local economy to £650 million over five years up to 2024, supporting 6,000 jobs.
“That’s why we’ve invested in culture in our recent budget, to build on the success of CultureDale,” he said.
UK Town of Culture is a new, national government‑backed competition for towns to win a multi‑million‑pound package to run a year‑long cultural programme, broadly modelled on UK City of Culture, with a bidding process, a designated ‘title year’ for the winning town, and an expectation that the funded events, festivals and projects will support regeneration, boost visitors and build local pride.
The first one will be awarded for 2028.
That’s all for this edition of The Calderdale Lead. Don’t forget that if you’ve got a story you think we should be covering then please email calderdale@thelead.uk and we’ll take a look.
Until Sunday, enjoy the rest of the week!
Andrew