Lessons learned 10 years on from festive flooding as minister visits Calderdale summit
Floods minister Emma Hardy heard how communities came together in wake of 2015 floods
Hello and welcome to The Calderdale Lead!
I hope you’ve all had a good weekend so far, dodging the showers no doubt but hopefully getting in the festive spirit (I know, I know it’s still November!).
In today’s edition we report on the visit of Floods minister Emma Hardy this week as part of a summit to reflect on 10 years since the devastating festive floods.
Ms Hardy joined Calder Valley MP Josh Fenton-Glynn, council leaders and West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin for the event.
Plus we have a couple of other nuggets in the Calderdale Digest round-up.
So, on with the news…
Calderdale Digest
🦊West Yorkshire will take inspiration from Bradford’s year as City of Culture and introduce an annual “Seasons of Culture” programme.
And the first event will focus on the nature of West Yorkshire.
Details of the plans were revealed in a recent report into future plans for West Yorkshire’s culture, heritage and sport.
Written by West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the report says the programme aims to build on the success of Bradford 2025, although the report has limited details on when the season will start, or what events will be taking place.
It says: “Annual seasons of culture will take a thematic approach across West Yorkshire and driving continued growth in the visitor economy.
“The ‘Nature Season’ will be the first in a series of annual themed ‘Seasons of Culture’ across West Yorkshire from 2026-2030.
⚽Halifax Town returned to winning ways with a 3-0 win over Solihull Motors thanks to a hat-trick from Will Harris.
It was the Shaymen’s first win in six games against former boss Chris Millington’s side.
And after the game, current gaffer Adam Lakeland said he was pleased for Harris.
He said: “I’m so pleased for him. Two weeks ago, after missing that penalty against Hartlepool, he was deflated and emotional, because he felt like he’d let everybody down, which is the type of lad he is.
“He’s got such a great heart, and it means so much to him, but he showed what type of character and person he is today where he’s gone out there and stepped up, put a shift in, scored three goals.
“Hopefully he’ll go on another little run for us now.”
Floods minister visits Calderdale to see £41m scheme 10 years on from festive flooding
By Andrew Greaves
Calderdale welcomed the Floods Minister to the borough this week as part of a summit to reflect on 10 years since the festive floods.
Emma Hardy joined other local dignitaries - including Calderdale Council leader Cllr Jane Scullion, Calder Valley MP Josh Fenton-Glynn and Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin - at the summit in Halifax and then visited the Mytholmroyd flood alleviation scheme.
The Mytholmroyd Flood Alleviation Scheme is a £41m flood defence scheme to provide better protection for 400 properties in Mytholmroyd.
Vital works completed as part of the scheme include:
New, raised flood and improved walls.
The relocation of Caldene Bridge
Widening of the river channel at key locations.
Waterproofing of buildings next to the river.
More than 3,000 homes and 1,500 businesses were damaged during the 2015 Boxing Day floods. An estimated £150m worth of damage was caused.
Mr Fenton-Glynn said of the minister’s visit: “We talked about the need for community resilience and how people came together following the 2015 floods to clean up and support our towns.
“This government has committed investment for flood resilience and alleviation. We are living with climate change and communities like Calder Valley are on the sharp end.”
The summit also saw a commitment to the West Yorkshire Flood Pledge - a shared commitment to protecting our communities and strengthening our response to flooding. It’s built around three key priorities:
Securing long-term investment to support flood resilience.
Empowering local flood groups and communities to lead the way.
Championing nature-based solutions that work with our landscapes.
Cllr Scullion told the Halifax Courier: “Here in Calderdale, we have risen to the challenge. We know it’s going to happen again and we will be ready.
“People who have been flooded often feel a sense of powerlessness and anger.
“We need new solutions and some innovation will come from communities themselves.
“We need investment, innovation and partnerships.”
To find out more about the West Yorkshire Flood Pledge, click here.
That’s it for this edition - thanks for reading.
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Until Wednesday, have a great week…
Andrew